The Chronicles of Riddick: Blood Rage
by Iapis
Summary: The human race had spread throughout the universe on inhabitable planets, and many had varied in their best strength. So when a female of unknown origin starts to make her appearance, she is undoubtedly a feared being. And it's unknown of her limits...
1. Chapter 1

So. This is where I would end up at. And what had I done? For all of humanity's memory, I had done nothing except perhaps kill men who tries anything on me, or on a child. But I know why I've ended up here like some convict.

Because I could potentially become the most dangerous being in this universe... Even more-so than Riddick, they claim. Well, I could...

But I prefer the calmer side of my animal nature.

**Disclaimer**  
I don't own anything of the Riddick Chronicles, characters or plotline wise. The only characters I do own are those of my own creation. Thank you for reading this disclaimer.

Traveling in a leisure cruiser certainly hadn't seem harmless. But when it's full of well-renowned mercenaries, it certainly wasn't so much of a cruise for one being.

A strange-looking female walked onto the ship that was heading to a destination called Helion Prime. She had been wanting to leave the planet Guile, a planet with a race of large-brained humans. The only ones able to live and/or visit this planet had to have the intelligence of 150 I.Q., if not more. Though while they were with high intelligence, it doesn't mean they're the most well-respected. Many meetings of these beings had usually resulted with a fight, and perhaps death.

The girl sighed lightly as she took to a seat in the back, where her wings could rest comfortably and without another being to sit next to her. She had seen many people turn their heads to watch her walk by. It was doubtful that they had ever seen a human with wings before, nor a horn and a strange-looking tail. Though she couldn't blame them; she had yet to see another like her. But she had seem strange gleams in some of the other passengers, though when she glanced at them in question, they quickly turned away.

'_I best watch them,'_ she thought to herself lightly, her face remaining blank of surprise or suspicion.

A woman approached the winged girl, looking unperturbed at the appearance, though the girl wasn't fooled by the mask the flight attendant was wearing. Her hands were frozen to her side when she approached, showing her surprise and wonder. At least she tried.

"Anything I can get you, miss..." The woman looked down at her wrist, the digital words showing the names of passengers. "Miss Laxzi? Rosalia Laxzi, correct?" Rosalia, or Rose for short, merely nodded in acceptance of her name. "I'm Kate, one of the few to serve you and the other passengers on this short flight. Do you need anything?"

"...A glass of water would be appreciated," Rose finally answered, opening her eyes fully to look up at the girl. Nothing much was too unusual for her brown eyes, though at the edge of her colored eyes were silver, glowing ever-slightly. Though otherwise, they remain to be ordinary by appearance.

"I'll have it here momentarily," Kate said before she turned on her heels and walked away. Rose smirked lightly at the hasty retreat. She hadn't done anything nor even seemed threatening, yet her unusual appearance was doing the job for her. Quite odd, considering most people regards the people with white angel-like wings as, well, angels.

'_She must be an atheist,'_ she thought with a light chuckle under her breath. She closed her eyes again and opened to her other senses. She could hear the other passengers' conversations as though she was sitting right next to them. Quite a bit of the talk was of one subject - the collapse of the Necromongels, and the disappearance of the latest ruler of the dominating race; Richard B. Riddick. _'Now why would anyone would drop the power of such a race and abandon the throne?'_ Rose thought to herself. She may never had an ambition of taking control of anything, but to many other people, she knew their nature would be to claim anything of such a thing. Such as a throne, for one. It had been five years since the Necromongels stopped their invasion and forced-convert on every planet they come across. Rosalia heard from the Elemental race of how it was changed around, since she was on their planet at the time. Riddick took to a guard disguise and found his way into the throne room where he battled and killed the Lord Marshal. A different kind of being, these Necromongers. The Lord Marshal was said to have visited the place called the UnderVerse, and came back as a stronger, and stranger, being, half alive and half something else entirely. And the moto they have... You keep what you kill...

Entirely weird faith to believe in...

To Rose, it sounded like a bunch of bullshit of a so-called power. This Lord Marshal may have gained the power to scare the shit out of people, but she doubted he gained it by dying and then revived with it. She could be wrong, but it was still something that only the insane would believe.

"-and they say that he can see you approach in the dark and slash your throat! It's why he wears those goggles," some kid said to another. He was scaring his poor sister with the saying of what this Riddick could do. Riddick, Riddick, Riddick... it's all Rose ever hears from people when she traveled planet to planet. She had been looking for her source of origin for years, of where she was born before she was sent away as a young child. She doesn't even remember what her planet looked like, she only knew of it through the writings on her escape capsule.

What were her people like? Had they looked like her at all? Did they have wings like she had, or the horn and tail? And what about these abilities she had, that seemed supernatural to others? So many questions that had ran through her mind for many, many years... And never were they answered.

Some hours had passed since she had boarded the ship. That Kate person had brought her a glass of water, Goddess bless her soul. Though the water was questionable to her nose. Probably the quality of it, always filtered time after time. Filtered water only takes its taste so far. It loses the good taste. A puddle water in mud had better taste. Probably had better minerals and vitamins, too.

"So, pretty thing, you have someplace to be on Helion Prime?" a Merc said as he approached the girl and sat in a seat in front of her, his face towards her with a sneer. Rosalia could tell it was trouble, as usual for her. She always seemed to draw it to her, no matter where she was or how she disguised herself. So she opened an eye at the man, not surprised of a leering man being her trouble.

"The only place I have to be is my own business," she said quietly, but not in a shy or unsure way. She hated men, but she especially hated the pig-headed and disgusting ones the most.

"Your business, huh?" The Merc leaned forward and took a strand of her long, brown hair and twirled it around tightly, pulling it tautly to him. Rose never moved when he tugged it, and the few strands he had was pulled out of her scalp. Many, many females would cry out in pain, or just defiance, but she wasn't bothered by the pulled-out hair itself. It was that it was a _**man**_ who dared to touch her, regardless of it being hair or not. "Could I make it my business?"

A crack later, and the man pulled away with a cry. The finger he used to pull a few strands of hair out of her scalp was broken backwards, and he never saw it coming. Should have known better, especially with a strange female he didn't know.

"Get in my way, and you'll have to pay," she said softly with a unmistakable smirk on her face.

"Bitch!"

"Uh-uh-uh," Rosalia said as her fingertips met his throat. But the nails were unmistakably sharp, like claws of a cat. They pierce into the skin, droplets of blood dripping very slowly. "There are children on board. Watch your mouth... before I have to permanently do it for you." She had moved close to his face as she said this, both eyes open and fixated on his face. "Have you gotten the message, mercenary? Now go back to your seat and stay quiet."

Oh, how a man could whimper and move away as fast as he could. Rose often wondered how _they_ had been the supposed dominant gender of a species, when they had never been through the pain of a woman, to give birth to their children and to support the men, even if their opinion was very wrong. Hmph, how the mighty falls indeed.

Wiping the blood from her hands, Rose turned her face to glance at the other passengers. Some were looking at her with a strange look, other fearfully or respectfully. Those of respect were the other women onboard. She nodded to them before turning back to the window to the outside space, popping a piece of gum into her mouth and chewing vigorously. Many people would smoke, drink alcohol, or perhaps hype up on some sort of drug. To deal with her stress, or stop a strong urge to taste blood, she chewed gum. And she usually went through ten packs in a single week.

It remained uneventful afterwards as the shuttle finally approached the planet, Rosalia looking onto a world that hadn't recovered from the attack of the Necromongers fully yet. A world of many religions, even more than there had on the original planet the humans were from - Earth. Helion Prime was hopefully better to be on than on Guile.

Hopefully, anyway.

The shuttle landed slowly and very loudly, the windows and the seats rattling recklessly. Many passengers looked sick, though Rose had dealt with worse, so she wouldn't be bothered by a little shaking. When the passengers were allowed out of their seats and leave the shuttle, the first one to leave was the Merc from earlier. Rosalia smirked as she waited for everyone else to leave before she did as well, her backpack on her back and well-secured.

The air tasted like the planet was still at war. The scent of people filled her senses, as well as the sounds of them and other activities with machines. People were talking loudly, or begging, or arguing, making her ears ring.

She was on the planet for only three seconds and she already has a headache.

Taking to a secluded place in the shuttle landing building, she pulled out her cloak and wrapped it around her. Now she only looked like a person, her wings tucked and wrapped around her waist to flatten out her back, her tail wrapped around her waist to look like a belt around her feathery decoration, and her horn hidden under the hood of the cloak at a careful angle. Now she wasn't such a sore thumb in the crowd.

She waited until the building were clear of all the passengers she rode with before leaving as well, now just blending in with the people of Helion Prime. Rose remembered the first time she had visited here; it was with her foster parents, Arym and Dane Laxzi, visiting Helion Prime for some religious reason. Rose was only five then, and her wings were very easy to hide, while her horn was a mere stub on her forehead back then.

Able to find a store of military needs, she entered it after glancing around. Just in case that same Merc was around. The store had supplies for guns, blades, and other needs. Perfect, considering that she had been low on supplies. Guile wasn't much of a planet to fulfill the needs of a combatant person.

"'Ello love. What can I do fer ya?" the person behind the counter said in a friendly matter, turning around from what he was doing to look at the cloaked girl. British accent, she could tell.

Rose flipped the hood off, so that she could see more clearly. Obviously, the man was taken aback at her appearance, but he recovered quickly enough to show curiosity and interest. "I am in need of a blade sharpener, as well as ammunition for Nighthawk Vickers pistol and H&K Hits One Out 9mm." When she listed the guns, she pulled them out and put them on the counter. The man leaned over to look at the guns, quite interested in them. "I also need a few cartons."

"Cartons? What kind of brand of cigarettes are you lookin' for?" the man asked as he turned around to the large selection of smokes.

"Not cigarettes... Gum." At that, the man turned his head to give her a look of absolute disbelief. "To be specific, Trident spearmint if you have any."

"Ai, I got that brand of gum... let me get your supplies."

Boxes of ammunition for the guns were piled on the counter, as well as a blade sharpener set. The only thing the man was having a tough time doing was finding that gum.

"So tell me love, what brings you to Helion Prime?" the man asked loudly from the back room.

"Visiting in most part, though I was in need of supplies. Guile just doesn't cut out with the goods," she relied in a bored tone while she looked at the collection of blades.

"Ah yes. I can see your point there." The man finally returned with five boxes of the gum she wanted. "This is quite an ancient brand of gum, love, considering that it's only produced on Earth."

"I know," Rosalia said as she pulled a specific blade from the collection and gave it a quick slash, turning it in her palm to determine its balance. It had a silver handle, the blade black like the night sky and curved into a shape of a crescent moon. "This is quite a blade."

"And no other like it," the man said proudly. "It was made by a good friend o' mine, crafts quite unique blades and weapons."

"Unique weapons makes unique skills in battle," she said thoughtfully as she studied the blade further. "I'll buy this blade, if that's alright."

"Not at all!" The man was pleased to have his goods bought, and Rose paid for everything easily enough. She had the money from an easy hunt of a convict that was just begging to be taken. "Thank you kindly for your business here, ma'am," he said happily as he stored the money into his safe. Rose merely gave a nod before flipping her hood back over her head once her supplies were packed. She left in satisfaction, her black boots making no sound on the ground. Though she instantly felt she had eyes on her, in which made her cautious once more.

Rosalia stopped before the grounds of those buried there, those that had died from the Necromongers' attack those years ago. She instantly found a name of a friend, in which she was saddened for. She may have been only five, but the person called Maltriz was a good friend nonetheless. She helped her parents learn what they could about a place on Earth, an ancient ruins of the Old World.

Then another name popped out at her, and she blinked a little bit. Imam. She remembered him, as well. She had stayed with the man with his sons and wife for a full year to learn of other worlds. He was a gentle man, even though he was a holy man by nature.

'_Who would have thought it would be his end...'_ Rose thought to herself as she shook her head a little. She turned from the grave markers, not wanting to see if any other names would pop out at her.

Her eyes widen slightly from a scent that filled her nose. Someone was around the graves, and he was hiding, watching her. Rose sighed silently as she relaxed a little. There was no need to be defensive yet.

"So you know, it is hard to sneak up on someone such as myself. If you were hoping to succeed in surprising me from behind, you're sadly mistaken. You're only testing my patience," she said outloud while she walked away from the graves. The person apparently didn't take her word for it. He merely followed from a long distance, silent as ever.

Coming across the house that Imam lived in, Rosalia stopped in front of the building. It was still in repairs, some boarded up until it was ready to be fixed. It looked live-in. Imam's wife must still live here, or at least Rose hoped so. Lijjin had been kind to the strange-looking girl when Rose had been here for a year or so. Were any of their sons still alive? And would they even remember her? With a shrug, Rose walked forward and knocked. A minute later, and a young girl answered the door.

"Yes?" she said with a inquiring tone, looking up at Rose. She must be about ten years old by this point.

"Would Lijjin be around?" Rose asked the girl.

"Yeah, my mother is inside," the girl said with a smile. Rosalia blinked, but then smiled lightly back. This must have been Imam's last child. With a gesture, the girl led Rose inside and to the room that wasn't quite destroyed like it was for some other rooms. "Mom, someone is here to see you."

"Who is it?" Lijjin asked as she sat up from her writing to look over her shoulder. Rosalia smiled as she pulled her hood off from her head.

"Why, I'm just your friendly alien coming for a visit," she said lightly. Lijjin's eyes widened, then showed a smile as she stood up from the chair.

"How you've grown, Rosalia!" The woman went over and hugged Rose, who didn't hug back but didn't pull away either. She wasn't much of a person to show or give affection back. "Ziza, this is Rosalia, a child of two of our friends. She had stayed with us many years ago."

"Wow, you do have a horn!" Ziza said in delight, Rose blinking from the tone. Lijjin must have told her daughter stories of her. "Do you have wings, too?" Rosalia nodded lightly as her wings unwrapped from around her body, pushing the cloak out to an extreme until it merely rested between her outstretched wings. Ziza instantly went over to pet the feathers, something Rose wasn't surprised of. Ah, to be a child again.

"Excuse the mess, we're still..."

"Trying to recover. I know, you do not have to tell me," Rose said with understanding. She looked around, and she could tell it had only been Lijjin and her daughter that had been here for years. The scent of Lijjin's sons were almost non-existent. She knew that it would be a painful subject to even ask where were Hammond and the other two sons. "Considering all that had happened, it would be a miracle to finish your house. You've been helping others with their homes, haven't you?" she said. Lijjin nodded curtly while she turned to the desk and poured tea for herself.

"We must help the less-fortunate before ourselves." Rose smiled a little again. Even though her husband was dead, she was still thinking like a holy man's wife.

"I had always admired that of you and your family." Rosalia closed her eyes with another silent sigh.

"So why the visit, young Rose?" Lijjin asked, recovering her cheerful mood and smiling, even though it was half-way heartedly made.

"I wanted to see familiar faces before I go off traveling again," Rose said lightly as she walked to the window of the second floor, looking down at the busy streets.

"So you're still searching." Rose nodded silently without having to look at the woman. "The truth of your people could still be out there, yes, but there could also the possibility of it not being there, either."

"I know that." Rosalia's eyes silvered for a mere few seconds in her annoyance at the suggestion. She already knew that for years now, she hadn't needed to be reminded of it. But her annoyance faded just as fast as it came, her eyes returning to its calmer state of brown with silver feathered along the edges. "But I have to try anyway. I will not stop until I at least find my planet, whether it be dead or not."

"Then perhaps you should take this," Ziza said after a minute of silence, making Rose turn to look at the young girl. In her hands was a necklace, the pendent shaped like a large tooth and engraved with gold encasing. Rose recognized it as the same pendent as Imam's.

"Ziza, it's your fathers. I can't take it," Rose said quietly while her eyes widen at the suggestion of taking such a prized possession.

"No, take it as a wish from me, so that you can find your home." Ziza pressed it into the winged-girl's hands, curling the gloved fingers over the gold and silver amulet. "Just take good care of it."

"......I will, Ziza. Thank you." Rosalia looked at Lijjin, who nodded with a small smile.

Rosalia may trust very few, but she was glad to have her confidence in this family, glad to have trust with at least these people.

When she left the household, Rose felt as calm as ever, though she was pleased to have visited her parent's family friend. She could sense the presence had left, the one from the graves, which made her even more pleased. Returning to the grave markers, Rose stood in front of Maltriz and Imam's graves. Rose slipped the golden chain of the amulet around her neck. It felt strange against her skin, though it had a calming aura to it instead of a dark one.

But a different aura was filled from a blade pressing against the back of her throat, making her stay still. Had the man from before been merely waiting for her to let her guard down? But no, this man's aura was different from the one before. It was one that was familiar, and then she remembered whose aura belonged to.

"Now... weren't your exact words was 'Get in your way and I'll pay?' You shouldn't have dropped your guard," the Merc from the shuttle flight said with a glimmer in his eye. Never trust a man to forget one's words when they're pissed. Rose closed her eyes as her hand moved slowly, never moving the cloak as she gripped onto an familiar handle of a weapon.

"You've made the unfortunate mistake of touching me again," she hissed softly before she whipped away, the blade that the man was using nicking only her skin a little. Pulling out the handle of a two-sided blade, she faced the Merc with eyes narrowed, ready to strike and kill. The Merc grinned horribly as he lunged forward with his awkward knife. The girl merely dodged it with a twist and brought her weapon down on his arm, slicing the skin along his back elbow open. Blood spewed out in a fountain as the man cried out. But it didn't stop him, he merely switched hands with his weapon to slice at her again. Ducking under it, she brought the weapon up, and it seemed to be too short to reach, and the man laughed at the attempt. But it was cut off as the blades of the weapon suddenly snapped out to their full lengths, the metal locking out and in place to form a double-sided sword. The blade had went straight through the man's neck, into the windpipe and vocal box. Blood gurgled out from the Merc's mouth before he went limp. Rose stood up straight and pressed the retraction button on her weapon, the blade returning to their shorter lengths, and the body fell in a heap of flesh and blood. Blood continued to shoot out from both gashes for five seconds before dying to mere trickles

"The fool certainly underestimated you, girl," said another voice as Rosalia looked around. There were five other men, all of them from the shuttle from earlier. The little voice inside Rose's head told her that she was in for another fight. "Quite sloppy of him to confront you like that." They had guns trained on her, buzzing from the charges. "I've heard there was a pretty little fortune on your head from a double-max prison."

"Hmph." Rosalia looked to the man that spoke. His hair was red and wild, long and reaching his shoulders. His eyes were dark green, matching his dark aura. He had an ammunition belt, full of bullets and blades. He had a military look to him, though many Merc's liked to wear them to seem more threatening. It just wasn't working on her, though. "Only a little fortune? And you bring a five-man crew." Rose looked to the other four members of this little group. "How disappointing." She turned to look back at the man. "How much am I worth?"

"500k is an awful lot for a girl," he replied with a grin. "How many did you kill to have a beautiful bounty such as that?"

"Enough men to do it." She wasn't going to answer fully, her eyes narrowing to mere slits. "Men like you, actually. The greasy, dodgy types." Rosalia stepped forward without the fear of those guns on her, smirking lightly like she was enjoying a private joke. She was now merely five inches away. "A slash across your throat is all it takes. A marvelous fountain of blood shoots out from just a small slash. You just have to hit the throat just right for it. The windpipe only suffocates them." She slid a finger from the man's jawline to the soft spot just under the jaw on his left side, next to the windpipe, where a major artery laid under the skin, pulsing thickly. "Right here is a lovely spot for it..." Then her claw traveled down from that to the middle of his windpipe, following it down until his neck meets his collarbone, that spot where the skin was sunken down to try and follow his windpipe behind the collarbone. "This doesn't create such a fountain... But it sprays out like a fine mist. Quite refreshing, really. Though if I follow upwards along the windpipe... Ah, the memories of my first kill..."

The man swallowed slightly just as Rose pulled her finger from his skin, and her smirk deepened. Perhaps no one had ever explained to the man how a killer may like their killing done. Her conscious of killing had died years ago, though somehow, she was able to keep her conscious of children and innocent people watching her kills. She never wanted to kill in front of the those who never had to kill to live. She also had a conscious of killing creatures - they're merely following their instincts, doing what was natural for them.

"Quite a thirst you have there." One of the other men had said this, in which Rose pulled away to look at him. He had blondish hair cut short, his blue eyes showing actual respect at the girl's describing her particular way to kill a man.

"Thirst, you say?" She laughed at the light term. "I would have to say it's more of a... hunger than a thirst." Behind her, she heard the first man's gun click, the safety unlocked and trained on her again.

"I dun know Boss, she might just not be worth it," another of the group said nervously.

"Shut yer whinin'," the man snapped, having regained his composer. "I'm the one givin' threats here, girly."

"Hm." Rosalia looked back at him with a blank face. "For someone who doesn't seem to have a name, you're quite demanding."

"Then allow me to introduce you to your days of imprisonment," he said as he grinned horribly. "The name's Victor, Victor Peril. There, I've been civilized enough for the day." The other men laughed more confidently, obviously feeling more brave than they had just a minute ago. "Razor, put the 'cuffs on her, let's get her loaded up and on our way to that prison and get our loot."

The blonde man started to approach her, but when she turned her head to watch him, he froze. At least he wasn't stupid as to think she was harmless just because the guns were in her face. He just might be the smartest out of this bunch.

"I don't do handcuffs," she said point-blankly. Victor started laughing like she had told the funniest joke in the universe, the other men reluctantly joining him. "You think I'm kidding." There was no humor in her voice as she looked at Victor.

"What I think is that you dun have a say in this," he replied as he raised his gun once more in confidence. But when Razor started forward again, Rosalia reacted without warning, her weapon brought down on one of the hands. Luckily for him, he reacted in time and without thinking, pulling back his hands at the last possible second. She only ended up nicking his right thumb.

Unluckily for her, Victor reacted as well when she moved, firing a shot into her left leg. She didn't scream, but she gritted her teeth together as she ended up on one knee. The coward got her from behind, the bullet digging right into the meat and nicking her leg, and it didn't leave through the other way. The bullet was stuck in there.

"Bastard," she growled when she whipped her head around to glare at Victor as he was laughing. She got to her feet and just pushed the pain to the side the best she could. By that point, Victor had finished gloating and raised his gun once more.

"Thanks. Now, your hands behind your back like a good convict." He used his gun to gesture her to do that, and Rosalia closed her eyes as she slowly put her hands behind her back. She felt Razor lock her wrists together, and she was pushed forward by gunpoint by one of the other men. Luckily for all of them, none had even bothered to think dirty thoughts. There would be missing family jewels if they had.

As she was guided to their ship, her long hair whipped past her shoulders and covered her face fully for a minute. And in that minute, she had smirked. This should be fun.

**Should I continue this story? Give me reviews of what you think, and I shall read them! Thankies!**


	2. Chapter 2

Victor Peril, a Merc with the one objective in mind: Money. And I'm to be his payday. The prison that apparently put half a mil on my head is definitely a place I'd be welcomed by the prisoners. After all, I've killed about fifteen of the worst guards before I've escaped.

But Victor should have been paying attention to the journey than his gloating. And who knew that I ended up somewhere else after some floating time. The question remains though is an important one;

What will happen now?

**Disclaimer  
**I still don't own Riddick in any shape or form. Just like last time, I only own what I created. Thank you. And to my two reviewers, as well as those that had favorite this story and/or me (Iapis) thank you for reading Chapter One. I'm trying out a new writing style, also. It may take a while to get used to. Anyway, let's have Chapter Two commence.  
Note:: If anyone could refer me to a good website for worlds and other information, please send it to me in some way. I watch the movies quite a few times, but I know I'll still screw stuff up. Like what worlds are still intact. XD; Oh wells...

"I've heard some of what the guards are gonna want to do with ya, there at Ursa Luna. First, they're gonna cut yer hair, shave it I think. Is that what happened to the guards ya killed before ya escaped? They touched yer hair, didn't they? Now second, they're gonna pull the pretty feathers out of your wings, five at a time, until all they resemble is chicken wings. Then they'll cut or gun 'em off yer back."

"This prison must really want revenge."

"Yeah, I know. But what does it matter to us, as long as we get that payday? After all, we may be able to haggle more on her than just $500,000 by the fact that we tracked down and captured her. O'course, we'll have to up-play the whole capture thing, say we lost five men before we got her 'cuffed. That ought to put us in good graces."

At last, Victor had moved away from their prisoner. She had remained silent throughout the entire time he was trying to get some sort of reaction, like anger or depression. Rosalia merely went to her imaginations of how to kill this man slowly, keeping an amused smirk on her face throughout the entire time.

They may have taken her weapons and bag of items away, but it doesn't make her any more harmless. And they've merely moved them all to a corner of her cell. They had her locked in a tiny room, handcuffed to a standing pole that had only been recently installed, but not reaching all the way to the ceiling. But with the space between it and the ceiling was only two inches. Barely enough room to even slide the chains through, but that's still a long way up to do so, about nine feet up. For a Merc that loved to hunt, Victor had a crappy and cramped ship.

'_Just a few more hours,'_ she thought to herself. But she wasn't counting the time between the travel and the arrival at the prison. She was debating on the best way to escape her cell and killing the Mercs. They've still haven't bothered on fixing her leg; the bullet trapped in there was rubbing against her nerves every time she moved the limb. It hurts, but it was more annoying than painful. She was going to pay Victor back for it.

An hour crept by since the departure from Helion Prime. Apparently, Victor had grew bored with gloating at someone who wouldn't respond back in any shape or form, so he took his boasting to his crew, laughing hysterically while drinking something that Rose could smell from her cell. They were drinking a strong liquor.

'_What had ever happened to that law on Earth, "No drinking and driving?"'_ But it doesn't quite apply to a spaceship like it had to those ancient vehicles back on Earth. The chances of ramming an spaceship into another was a million-to-one if you were traveling through space to an desolate planet. The luck back on Earth with cars was ten-to-one.

With a sigh of boredom, Rosalia looked around in her tiny cell. There was no window to look outside, but when did a cell have windows, anyway? In a spaceship, it usually should be in the front port of it anyhow. Less likely chance of windows collapsing and spacing all the occupants of the ship if it was only one instead of five glass look-outs.

Blank and grey walls were her only looking points, and she was itching to do something that may involve slitting one's throat in this miserable ship. Looking at space was more exciting than the walls. It didn't quite help that she was having a strong feeling of something bad was going to happen, either. When she had those feelings, they turned out to be right. It might be one of her species' best ability, but it could just be from all these years learning to trust her instincts.

"Is anyone on this ship going to feed their prisoner?" she yelled out at the babbling voices, though she had a feeling they were too far-drunk to even respond. But sure enough, there was one person that wasn't drinking, and that was Razor. He came over to peer into the cell, sober as ever. "Nice to see that at least one of you has a brain."

"I jus' dun like drinking, though that'd be why I was made navigator. So, you yelled about food? We dun have much on this ship but liquor and rations."

"Hm." Rose looked thoughtful at the Merc. "You may have been the first Merc I have met that was a decent man," she said plainly. Razor merely blinked in agreement to that. "In my bag, I have ration bars that I carry around. Get me one."

With the jingle of keypads being typed on, the door slid open and Razor entered before the door slid closed quickly behind him. Must be an cautionary thing, and Rosalia could understand that. If she had slipped the handcuffs off somehow and had killed the man, it wouldn't have mattered much at all. It must be an voice-activated command to allow one to leave the room.

The Merc fished out a bar and pulled the wrapper from it, though as being a Merc that shouldn't bother to care much about what they captured, he was unsure of how to feed her. Being paused a mere foot from her with the bar, she snapped forward and caught the bar in her mouth, her sharp fangs holding the bar in place as she demolished the thing in five bites. Not one to snap food down her as fast she could, but she wouldn't trust her own food with anyone else. The Merc may have just been putting on a facade for her to put her guard down as he slipped something into what she would be eating. She'd rather be careful than foolish.

"Thanks," she admitted anyway as the Merc looked at her in surprise. Let him think that she was that hungry. She just wanted to make sure to have strength. He left the cell after nodding at her spoken gratitude. Now she had to wait some more...

The laughing and the gloating gave way to heavy snoring after some hours later. The only other sound was whistling, Razor diverting his attention from navigating. Maybe reading a book, or working on a report. Rose wasn't sure, and wasn't that concerned about it. She may have waited three more hours, but it was worth it. Now she wouldn't have to worry about the Mercs busting into the cell and having to have her resort to killing them before their due time.

Rosalia looked up to the top of the pole, determining if it was worth the effort to slide the chains of the handcuffs over the top. She decided against it, since she would still be stuck with the problem of the cuffs. So she decided on a better alternative.

Focusing on her hands, she rotated her thumbs around a few times before commanding her muscles to fold up against her palm, resulting to some mild cracking and joints popping. Then she worked with the other half of her hands, her little finger and its joint joining with the thumb. Without wasting any time, she slipped one hand out and brought her other hand in front of her, yanking the handcuff right off of that one. She snapped her hands back out to their original position, flexing her fingers in front of her to make sure that they were working correctly. It was one of the many tricks she had learned about her limbs, able to shift her joints around to fit in different situations. Especially with her shoulders and legs.

One step to freedom, she reflected as she cracked her neck to one side and then the other. Many of her muscles had cramped, and her leg was still bothering her from the bullet. She supposed that she could have taken the time to fished it out of her muscles, but her instincts started yelling at her. At that point, that feeling of something was going to happen, was happening.

"Shit!" she heard from the front of the ship, followed by heavy shaking of the ship a second later. She crouched down to avoid falling, her eyes wide as she tried to determine what shook the ship. It was followed by another half a minute later, and Rose began to get the picture. "We're caught in a shower!"

"What's going on?!" Victor woke up in a bad mood as Rose could hear thumping of two other bodies falling to the floor of the ship. They must have been very drunk indeed. They complained until the next hit had them all falling to the floor. "Razor, what's shakin' the damn ship?!!"

"We've been caught up in a meteor shower, Boss!"

"Well, get us the fuck out of the way, ya damn Navigator! What good are ya otherwise?!"

"Boss, the damn shower caught us in the middle of it, and either direction would take twenty minutes, and I doubt the ship could last five minutes of this!" By this point, the ship was shaking constantly. Rose grabbed for her bag and slipped it on her back as well as slipped her weapons into their rightful sheathes, the pupils of her eyes wide like a cats' would in this situation. The coloring of her eyes went solid shimmering-silver, showing the dire situation they were all in. Razor had better be a good navigator...

"A part of the ship got penetrated! We're losing air fast in our second compartment!" another of the men yelled out. Despite being drunk, he was able to read the screens.

"We gotta lose it," said the other. But Victor wasn't about to pull the lever and send it on its way. Their prisoner was in there.

"Fuckin' hell no! That's our payday!" Though one way or another, they'd better make the decision. To keep an collapsing compartment meant losing every bit of precious air that would triple their efforts to fill the compartment.

Rose could feel a tiny sucking at the window of the door of the cell, and she knew that she really had one chance at surviving. Maybe the visit to Guile paid off after all. There was no better alternative of testing it out another time.

After three more 'debating' minutes with Victor and his crew, they had to lose their living compartment reluctantly, as well as their prisoner. The compartment detached itself after the rest of the ship sealed itself from the space air, spinning off in a fast and wild, spinning speed. It followed with the shower before it finally broke through the walls of it ten minutes later. The compartment was in bad shape, but it held up all of its walls. The only thing that broke away was the wall of where it had once been attached to the Merc ship, and the wall of Rose's cell, spinning with the rest of the meteors.

Floating uncontrollably in her sphere of clear substance of some sort, Rosalia was curled up and trapped within the object, her wings wrapped around her like a feathery cloak or blanket, her tail curled around to the front of her ankles. The Guile planet specialized in creating strange items that would otherwise be scoffed at. It had inflated after wrapping itself around Rose from where she had it stored in her bag, locking its seams firmly. She wasn't sure of how the people found such substance that was flexible until it became a sphere, but she wasn't going to question it in this situation. She just wanted it to work.

'_This is one way of escaping the Mercs...'_ she thought to herself as she watched the dizzy process of the ship spinning slowly in space while she remained somewhat stationary. But eventually, the ship moved to where she bounced out of the ship entirely. At first, her heart thudded as her brain wanted to panic, since she was floating without direction, without any reassurance that she would survive for long. The sphere was declared uncompleted by the creator of the device, and the man had thought her crazy to buy the device without a way to pump oxygen into it. He was still refining the design, trying to fit a pump system into the scheme. Though it had cost her a pretty penny overall, being that it was still a new design, she wasn't worried one bit about that pump system. Her horn took care of that problem.

Her horn had a special attribute to it, somehow able to take the air around her and convert it into breathable oxygen, as it could with water, purifying it of any bad elements. The ultimate downside to having such an ability was that it would do it with air without her command continuously, as well as it would drain her of energy. To purify a large room or ship for two hours without any pump system to pump oxygen in would have her almost unconscious from exhaustion.

She would have the same problem with the space she was confined in. It was small and not needing a large effort of energy. But given to the fact that she may be floating for days or even weeks, depending on her luck, she would be exhausted by the end of the first week. Not including that she doesn't even have much water to supply her for four days.

'_Really, Goddess? This was my way to freedom?'_ she thought to the supposed Goddess of all living planets, the mothers that gave birth to all life. The God was the suns that gave the earths the seed to give birth. Whatever gods were out there, she thought that they had a strange sense of humor.

Closing her eyes, she tried to think of her options. There weren't many of them for this situation. She'd float through space until a.) She was picked up by any ship, b.) Comes to a planet's gravity and be caught by it to be shot to its surface, or c.) Continue to float until she died of starvation, dehydration, or exhaustion of her horn's ability, whichever came first. Her best bet was really option A, and she couldn't see that happening. And if it had, she'd have to deal with whoever picked her up if they were Mercs.

She sighed as she came to those conclusions, seeing a very bleak possibility of her living. She wasn't ready to die; she still had a score to settle with Victor (if he survived), as well as find out what she really was. At least she wasn't afraid of the darkness of space... As being encased in a sphere with no light, she couldn't really see her own hands. Maybe outlines of them, since her eyes were for being able to draw light in so that she could see in the darkness. There wasn't much light out there in space, just distant and faded stars.

So there was only one alternative left to do, and allow whatever would come, to come. Having learned of this from her foster parents, she began to go what would be called 'deep sleep,' or perhaps 'deep meditation' by some, as well as 'hibernation' by those of no imagination. Her breathing was slowed to the point of almost not breathing at all, her heartbeats slowed to a bare beat every five minutes. Her mind went black of any thoughts, to keep her muscles relaxed and to not make any effort to extort her energy. The horn would still be working, but because of her very slowed breathing, it would save her energy to last many weeks, maybe even months if she doesn't die by her body's need of food and water. Her wings would keep her warm against the coldness of space, so she wouldn't die from hypothermia. When/If she was taken into another ship, the oxygen of the ship would be the only thing to open the sphere around her. Her mind would wake up for the same reason, because that was what she wanted the most.

So unless otherwise, she would die in her sleep without having to even worry about dying. It was the best way to die, without fear, panic or depression. Just peacefully.

- - -

'_The Mercs should have been watching their radar. Probably could have avoided the meteor shower altogether if they were reading their screens,'_ thought the person piloting the spacecraft through the dust that remained of the shower. Past the dust, he found the compartment the Mercs had to leave behind. Darn shame to leave their living quarters to space, though they must have flushed something important out with it. If it wasn't with something that important, they would have deposited of it at the first sight of the shower... And that was about a week ago since it passed by.

His readings beeped, drawing the man's attention. There was something out there that was still generating heat. Very faintly, but still enough to be picked up by the ship's readings. Checking it out, he moved his ship toward the object. It took him about twenty minutes before he found the source of the heat. There in space was a small sphere with something in it. From the distance, he couldn't quite tell what it was. But up-close, there was a body, the source of the heat the computer picked up, as well as by his eyes. A person, in better terms, since whoever it was hadn't died. Now that was surprising for the man, but not a surprise that left him unguarded. Just curious. Debating if he wanted to bring it into the ship and look at it closely, or let it drift on, he decided that if it was dangerous, he could dispose of it quickly enough.

'_I hope the occupant is in a good mood.'_

Directing the ship over the sphere, he controlled the mechanical arms that usually did the repairs on the ship for him. Soon enough, he eased it into the small cargo hold for non-perishable objects. Time to check what he collected.

The ship was somewhat small by living standards, but it supplied the occupant with two rooms for living quarters and two cargo holds, one for those that wasn't affected by the non-air of space like the tools to conduct ship repairs, the other for perishables such as food. The first cargo hold usually had to be sealed and filled with recycled air before anyone could enter, which was the result to the push of a button. Standing in front of the hold, he pressed that button, and instantly the room sealed itself and started to fill with breathable air, the sound of squelching erupting from the shutting of the seals, followed by the hissing noise of the pump system. Only when the lights that indicated to the man what condition the room was in turned green, did he open the door.

As he approached the sphere, the thing unsealed and folded up on itself until it disappeared into a cube right next to the girl. What was more interesting was that she had wings, as well as some horn on her forehead and a tail that reminded him of a feline. She was laying on her side now that gravity had caught her in its clutches, barely even stirring. It was a surprise that she was still alive, the color of her skin so pale and how faint her heart was beating. Her clothing was strange, purple and long sleeved, the edges of the pant-legs and the shirt sleeves ruby-red, as was the tied sash around her waist, the remaining ends at her left side, and the edge of her cropped-up shirt that showed her stomach. The buckle in the middle of her sash had a strange symbol he could recognize as the old symbol of Earth, with the four elements of water, fire, earth and air that made up the planet. Her boots were black and white, matching her tail's colors, though opposite seeing as the majority of the material was black and the soles were edged with white as the color followed up to the top edge as a spike.

Crouching next to the girl, he could see that her heart was starting to beat stronger. It must have been from the result of some self-induced sleep. That must have kept her alive for even this long. Though he wasn't sure of how, since she should have used up all of her available air, even in that state.

Whatever the reason, the girl started to stir after some minutes at last, her breathing drawing in air at a much-more normal rate with every of those minutes. With his blade in hand, he waited as she started to wake up. Being in space for a week would distort her badly, not used to gravity and her eyes not adjusted to even see light. Her eyes closed tightly against the light, her limbs moving weakly against the gravity until her body could catch up.

"You're lucky to be alive," the man said in a deep baritone voice, watching as the girl halt her progress of regaining control over her muscles. "Another week, you probably would have died from dehydration." He stood up with ease, not worried about the girl attacking him anytime soon. She probably even knew that if she had in her weak state, she'd be killed.

She finally pushed against the floor with her hands, able to regain her senses of what was up and what was down. So had her guts, since she ended up gagging down stomach bile that rose to her throat. Swallowing hard against the urge to throw up, she slowly gained all control over herself. It had to be painful in some way, being pushed against the floor by gravity. So had to be the wound in her leg, barely even healed. He could smell the fresh blood trailing from it.

Pushing onto her feet, the girl finally stood up, stumbling until her hands grabbed onto the nearest box to steady herself and get used to the gravity and the cramped muscles trying to stretch. Her eyes finally opened slowly, her eyes silver and the pupils narrowed to the shape of skinny diamonds, trying to adjust to the light quickly. Such an unusual color, but the silver faded sure enough to the color of deep brown, the lighter color feathered along the edges.

Looking up, she could see the man standing there with his arms crossed, just watching her through his goggles. She wasn't sure what he was to her, friend or foe. But she knew that he was right; she was lucky to be alive.

"H.... how long had I been d...drifting?" she said at last, her voice cracked and dry-sounding from the lack of use.

"'Bout a week by my computer's readings," the man answered easily. "The Mercs' must have dumped you as last resort." A harsh laugh left the girl's throat, nearly causing a convulsion between the laughing and dry-coughing.

"Didn't want to loose half a mil of payday..." she spat out after calming the coughs. She must not be thinking clearly just yet, admitting to someone she didn't know how much she was worth. "I hope they survived so that I could return a few favors."

"Half a mil is an awful lot to dispose of," the man said quietly, in which the girl suddenly seemed to remember that she didn't even know if he was a Merc looking for an easy payday. "Not as much as I'm worth, though." This brought the girl's head up to look at him in surprise. "If you were any paler, the light would have went right through ya," he said instead, commenting on her skin's lack of color from a week of space-drift. "I suppose I could spare some food and water for ya. You're gonna need it to get stronger."

She was confused at the casual suggestion. Surely he would be worried that she'd get strong to attack him? Unless... He was confident that he could protect himself, even kill her without an effort. The aura of him said so. He had killed many times to defend himself. Well, if he wanted to kill her, she would have been killed once the sphere collapsed, or just let her drift on to die eventually... She was there alive on the man's curiosity and limited generosity.

Something caught his attention as she began to stand on her own without having to hold herself up. A swinging pendant on her neck was the source of his attention, and he was surprised. It turned out to be the same pendant from the holy man, the one he placed at the holy man's ruined home for his child and wife. Now the girl had it as though it was a gift, or a prize.

"Where did you get the pendant?" he said in a tone that told the girl that he would become violent if she gave a wrong answer. She blinked as she turned to look at him once more. What did it matter to him?

"From a child of a friend..." she answered after a minute, and it rung with truth. From the corner of her eye, she could see his grip on the blade he held loosen. "She wanted me to have it on my journey."

"Your journey, huh?" The dangerous tone had left his voice, meaning that she could breath again. "I'm sure the pick-up by those Mercs weren't on your agenda."

"It wasn't..."

The man turned around and headed for the door, in which the female couldn't do much else but follow behind after grabbing the sphere-cube. She didn't like the idea of being in-debt with her life to a man. But she supposed it could have turned out much worse for her. The short walk drained what physical energy she had, so she was glad to sit down in a chair the man indicated for her. He deposited some ration bars and a bottle of water into her lap. It probably wasn't much to him and maybe had better food around for himself, but it was a meal worthy for the Goddess to her. Controlling the urge to shove food into her mouth as fast as she could, she ate two bars as slowly as she could before taking a few gulps of water. If she rushed to eat all these bars and the water, she'd end up throwing it all back up instead.

"You've had to had known the holy man himself to been given that pendant," the man said thoughtfully as he sat from across the aisle. She swallowed the third mouthful of water before nodding slowly. "So it was you cloaked and looking at his grave." It wasn't a question, just a statement.

"I knew the family from my younger years," she said slowly, trying to figure out the man's objections to questioning her. "It was you at the grave sites that I noticed." She had thrown a statement back, understanding why the man's aura was familiar to her now.

They had stopped talking as Rose ate her third bar much more slowly, not as hungry as she had been before. Kind of became a stand-off, since they both seemed to have seen or felt one another's presence on Helion Prime and never expected to meet face-to-face since then. To Rose, the Goddess seemed to have a funny sense of humor again. She doesn't really believe in humans' 'destiny,' nor did she want to. Things were never set in stone.

"So what are you, exactly?" An answer she couldn't even answer for herself, and the man seemed to know it.

"I do not know my origin, nor the name of my species," she answered in a flat tone, her eyes narrowed slightly. "Try asking something I can answer." This sentence was said in a lighter tone, one of her eyebrows raised slightly.

The man chuckled lowly at the answer he received. So she did have a sense of humor in there somewhere. "Then here's an easy one for you; what's your name?"

She paused for a minute before answering. "Rosalia Laxzi. Accused convict, traveler, wondering healer." Interesting title she gave herself. The man could do better, though.

"Richard B. Riddick. Convict, murderer, ex-ruler of the Necromongers." He smirked as she gave a look of surprise and maybe a second or two of fear. So she did knew his name and fame. She then gave a light smirk of her own.

"So you're the famous Riddick..." She shook her head a little. "I had been rescued by the last man I would ever thought to meet." Riddick reached forward with a hand out, though it took a minute before the girl would reach out with one of her own hands to shake his. He remembered the last time he shook hands with another that introduced himself first, though it had been a long time ago. It had been the antique dealer, Paris he recalled, that had been on the same ship as the Merc that caught Riddick for awhile, Johns...

"Quite some claws," he commented when he had noticed the length and tips of her nails that had broke through the tips of her gloves quite some time ago. She was becoming less human every second as he noticed something more unusual about her. She merely shrugged as she leaned back against the chair with relief from her muscles.

"All the better to slice a Mercs' throat open," she said in an almost cheerful tone. She must be imagining doing the same with the Merc that dropped her like a hot potato in space. After looking thoughtful, she pushed the wrappers, the food and the water onto the table as she brought her leg up, the one that was still bleeding. Pressing her fingertips against the skin and following around her leg, she was feeling for something. She must have found it as she gritted her teeth and sliced through her skin with her own claws. Three seconds later, a bullet popped out of her leg and clanked on the floor. "Damn coward... I'm personally returning his bullet to him..." she growled. But here was what was strange; she bent her head down to touch all of the wound with her horn, and new muscles and skin flowered wherever her horn touched, healing it like it never had been shot.

"Neat trick." Rosalia looked at Riddick before shrugging again.

"I have better tricks up my sleeve." She turned her chair away as she pulled her bag off her back, snapping the catch up and pulling out a blade sharpener, as well as two other blades from the bag itself. The other blades she carried, she unhooked and started to work on her two-sided blade one. "What destination are you heading?"

"Aquila Major. Got somethin' to pick up there."

"No Merc on your tail, I hope." Pressing a part of the handle, both blades shot out to sword-lengths. There was dried blood on one blade, meaning that she had killed recently. Must have been before the Merc ship, back on Helion Prime. "To being the previous ruler of a conquering race, as well as an famous convict before that... There ought to be some hefty reward on your head by this point." Wiping the blood off with care, she started to work on the rest of the blade length after she had finished with the other one.

"All the blades you carry, and you have a crappy one. No wonder you carry it in your bag," Riddick commented instead, picking up a blade from the table that had a simple handle. Casted black around the base of the blade, he could feel that the blade had far-more weight than it should compared with the handle, making it unbalanced and most unreliable in a light and quick battle. Not to mention that it was duller than shit. Couldn't cut through skin on a first swipe.

"It had been used for my first kill. Call me sentimental, but it had been given to me by a fighter. If I hadn't had it, I'd be dead those years ago." She gave the left blade a final, screeching scrape against the sharp edge of the blade. She looked up at him with a small smirk. "You deliberately avoided answering what I've said before." The blades retracted back into their smaller lengths, folding inward and locking themselves in place. "But that's alright. I'm just a drifter." _'A living drifter, at that,'_ she added privately. Placing the weapon she had just finished into its proper sheathe, she picked up her newest blade she added to her collection, studying the blade closely. It wasn't in a need to be sharpened, though she had to think of where to place it for easy reach. It came with its own sheathe, and it protected the black blade with ease.

"Heh." At least the girl wasn't stupid as to push her luck, Riddick realized. Many women, even raised in a life of hardship, would either be so timid or quite defiant as to think that they were better than others. This one knew her limits, confident with herself to know where limits were at. Interesting. "You seem to be at peace with not knowing."

"I don't make a living chasing bounties like some idiots do. Rather take the day as it is without thinking how to chase a convict through space." She smirked. "Victor must be at such a loss, and he was only a few days away from the largest payday of his life. I'm probably registered as dead again."

"The Merc that spaced you?"

"Yeah, the coward Victor Peril. I've yet to met a Merc with kahunas large enough to back up his reputation."

"Neither had I."

Well, it should turn out to be an interesting trip to Aquila Major for the convict. For the both of them, really. Though who knew what was awaiting for the both of them on the designated planet? As both with large bounties on their heads, who knew until they arrived there.

**Well, another chapter for my newest story, and it seems that my creative juices are going well, since it had been hard for me to write chapters for some stories since '07. Who knows how far I'll go with this story. Please send reviews when you can, and I'll enjoy reading them! Bad or good ;D Thanks for reading Chapter Two.**


	3. Chapter 3

It had been two weeks since I have been picked up by a man. The famous Riddick, of all people at that. I suppose I should count my blessings that I'm still alive. But one can't help but wonder...

My muscles are becoming stronger as they get used to gravity once again. Of course, Riddick seems to have fun helping me get there, though I wouldn't quote myself on that. Not how one would probably put it, but there isn't anyone else around to say if it's for fun or for some other reason.

Really, though... As long as I'm alive and the man's keeping to himself, I'm happy. But who knew of what new company was waiting for us...

**Disclaimer**  
I do not own Riddick in any shape or form, nor do I hope to gain profit from making this story. I only want to hear from my readers, so send in those reviews! The only things I do own are those that will never make an appearance in 'The Chronicles of Riddick,' such as Rosalia, and the planet Guile. Thank you.

It was day fourteen since Rose was picked up from an otherwise death-sentence in space. She laid in the bed of the other living quarters. Rarely she slept, but because of the week in the sphere, her body was trying to recover the energy she lost from continuously purifying her own breathing air. It was interesting to wake up from her first sleep since she had been rescued, though...

She had been sleeping for about five hours at that time, when she would usually sleep for a mere hour. But the sleep was doing her good, no matter to her complaints. Her alert senses were sharpening again, as were her reflexes. While her muscles were still weak, they were beginning to strengthen.

A presence had woken her from that sleep, and while she was aware that she should be doing something, her muscles weren't catching up with that thought. As though they suddenly remembered what they should be doing, her hand had reached down and grabbed her new blade to press it against the person's throat. Before she could even raise it halfway, a blade was already pressed against her throat, stopping her. She had opened her eyes fully and realized who it was.

"What?" she had snapped, annoyed at herself for not even able to react like she should with those sneaking up on her in her sleep. Riddick had perched himself above her, posed like he was ready to kill her. But his aura said otherwise, so she had realized that he was merely checking on her reaction time, for whatever his reason.

"Poor-ass reaction. You'd be dead before you had even reached that blade." He had backed off then, placing his blade back into its sheathe. Rose had then suddenly noticed that he had his goggles off. His eyes shimmered, and she was unable to grasp why they should be doing that. Of course, though, the room was dark because she was still trying to have her sight back without permanently blinding herself.

She hissed under her breath, much like a cat would when they're badly-annoyed. But her curiosity took better control than her annoyance. She ended up looking at his eyes with a slight curious look.

"Interesting eyes you have," she said instead of a biting-remark she had at first wanted to say.

"Hm." He looked at her with something in his eyes she couldn't quite get. Maybe remembering something, but she wasn't sure. But he turned around and was about to leave the room. Rose was just beginning to relax when he stopped and turned his head. "You know you growl in your sleep?" he had said, making Rosalia look at him confused. How long _had_ he been waiting for her to wake up to react, anyway? "Sexy," he then said with a smirk, Rose blinking before double-looking at him.

"You can stop deluding yourself at any time," she had yelled at him as he left and the door was sliding shut.

Reflecting on that first day, Rosalia was actually quite grateful that he started the whole routine, no matter than it sometimes annoy her. Her reflexes had improved, and by the time half of the second week had passed, they ended up matched, blade to blade or blade on both of their throats by the other. She had yet to get him by the throat without him doing the same, but she was getting there.

Standing up from the bed, she knew that her body and muscles had improved from its bad condition. She was almost back to the way she was. Somehow, though, she thought she would be in a bad state for a few more weeks. A human would have been stuck in bed for months after four days of space-floating time. Though she had to shrug it off; she should be quite grateful that her body wasn't like that of a weak human's body.

Replacing the pendent back over her head to hang around her neck, she left the quarters and joined Riddick in the cockpit of the ship. He gave no indiction that he noticed her other than a mere glance. She dropped into a chair and propped a foot up on another chair.

"How long is it by this point?" she asked, watching the back of Riddick's chair.

"'Bout another week, give or take a few days," he answered without looking at her. Shrugging, Rosalia turned to look out to the stars. "So tell me about the clues of where your home planet might be at." He had been asking questions every now and then throughout the time. Probably to pass the time for himself. Both of them could have gone to cryosleep for the remainder of the trip. But considering that they're both experts in the art of killing... that was no option to either of them.

"The only clues I've managed to pick up was that it was in a system somewhere around the Aquilan System. That could be any system out of hundreds," Rosalia replied after a minute. "The planet is supposed to have two moons, and a medium-sized sun. Young one, would have several billion years left before it advances to its bigger but weaker form." She shook her head a little. "That's really all I have managed to get. Some from my memories."

"Memories, you say." Well, she hadn't expected Riddick to listen much, but he seemed to be following along. "How young?"

"Barely a year old."

He chuckled lightly in amusement. "How interesting."

"Hmph... Why would that be interesting?"

"Because," he started as he swerved his chair enough to look at her, "it seems to be a better likelihood that your planet is dead."

She went silent, but she seemed to already know of the possibility. "I know." She looked back from the stars at him. "But I'd rather find the planet than not at all." Looking back to the window, her eyes narrowed a little in thought. "Dead or alive."

'_Very interesting,'_ Riddick thought to himself as he looked back to the controls. She seemed less interested with learning his history, or else doesn't want to push her luck. Not like it would kill her if she had asked, but he appreciated the change of pace for once. He was asked for his history time and again. Why not learn of another's story without having to reveal his personal history?

- - -

"Compared with what we almost had, this is chump change..."

"It's a'right, Boss. We'll make it up with better convicts." Razor was trying to counsel Victor. It had been quite some time since they've lost their ultimate payload to that meteor shower, and barely making it out alive themselves. Of course, they've ended up having to recruit a new member when one of their coworkers was murdered. And not by the meteor shower or by some bystander; Victor was quite pissed by the time they've left the proximity of the danger.

"Yeah yeah," Victor growled as he pocketed his share of the pay once it was split between all five of them. The convict they picked up and shipped to Ursa Luna gave them a mere 20k, half of that going to repairs and giving everyone about 2k each with what was left over. Aw well, do with what you have and all that shit, Victor had thought at the time.

"So what was that you almost had?" the newest crew member asked. Ramza was his name, and seemed to be reaching his twenties. Got picked up on a planet before reaching the double-max prison. Had a good reputation as an excellent tracker. It was how they were able to grab themselves a new convict to take and get some sort of pay. He had flaming-red hair that reached his shoulders, and eyes as blue as the deepest oceans, even though there seemed to be a secondary color somewhere in there. With the casual clothing he wore, he doesn't stand out much in the crowds, which practically made him invisible.

"Safe to say that she's dead, but she was worth half a mil," Razor said with a shrug. "Rosalia Laxzi was her name."

"That one with wings? Wait, did she really had wings?" He wasn't one to question if it was possible or not, not since he hides his own secrets pretty well. Of course, though, it never hurts to double-check on information.

"Yup, and some yellow horn on her forehead and a cat tail," said the third, Carl, of the crew. He was lucky to avoid being killed like his previous partner, though he had little to no grief about it. "She had put up no fight when we got her. Must had scared her," he added with a smirk. But it dropped when Victor turned his glare onto him.

"What did it matter, anyway? She's dead, and that's really that," he snapped.

"Yeeaah, I doubt she'll be pullin' off another death trick like she had for the last fifteen times," Greg said quietly, as though to avoid getting Victor's attention.

"Ya know, whatever, let's jus' get goin' and find ourselves another convict worth somethin'." Victor slammed the thruster clutch in, making the craft go into a faster speed. It would speed up the time between them and their destination, Aquila Major. It was ultimately scarred by the Necromongers, but the settlers were determined to revive their planet. In the five years, it was just now beginning to reach a point of being breathable. At least the residents could walk around without masks on now. Excellent place to pick up scum, all-in-all. "Ramza, find us another target!"

"Yes'sir," Ramza mumbled as Victor passed him to the back of the ship, entering their newest quarters for a drink. The red-haired man hadn't been all that sure about joining this crew, and he still wasn't thrilled about being in the same ship as the likes of Victor. But he needed the money as it was the case. Besides, if he was lucky to survive Victor's wrath and make it alive long enough to get a few pays, he could always bail out on them; he had his own agenda to deal with.

- - -

'_I wonder how she's doing...'_ Rosalia thought to herself as she continued to stare out at the stars. She was thinking of an unusual friend of hers, by the name of Kasai Kage; or Mily, as she liked to be called. Now she was as close to being the same species as Rose was, though there was a major difference between these two. Rose was more feline. Mily was on the brink of being an old, mythical creature of earth called a dragon. And Mily had a home world, one that she was born on and was among her own species. Heh, the irony to Rosalia.

"Being lost in thought could be an unhealthy occupation, you know," Riddick said, snapping her out of her thoughts to look at him.

"Hey, allow me to entertain myself in some way." Five more days passed, and by this point, she was really sick of staring at walls or space, even though she was never tired of the stars themselves. There was no room on the ship except for the cargo holds to improve her fighting techniques. She wasn't keen on the idea of it, though, about either holds. One could malfunction and send her into space, and the other had too much food and other perishables to worry about. By this point, she wasn't worried about Riddick anymore.

"You could get entertained in some other way."

"Don't even give me suggestions." She rolled her eyes. "Alright then, how about I help out with the com units or something? I'm not completely ignorant with controls."

"It's all controlled, but you can watch the scanners for anything in my place." And without any explanation, he stood and left the controls to Rose. Well, not like she needed to know what he was doing 24/7, she was used to the routine already. Scooting to the front seat and adjusting her wings to droop down the sides of the chair, she looked to the scanners. Well, other than random little objects passing by, there was nothing to be seen. Though after what happened on the Merc's ship, she wasn't going to relax just because it looked clear. So she crossed her arms and leaned back, watching the scanners with such intensity of a predator.

With Riddick, he was certain the girl wouldn't do anything stupid with the computers. He was impressed with her patience and silence. Never known a woman to not yap about whatever crossed her mind. Of course, there was one other woman that he was impressed by her willingness to become something like him. Kyra. A woman he could have fought for and maybe even would 'rejoin the human race,' as one person said to him, Carolyn Fry. A number of people had died because of him. Those people that had depended on him for their survival. Even Kyra, who had said she could take care of herself.

It's a wonder he kept his sanity. Though the only reason he would be, was because he was rather an animal than a human. The primitive side of him was what kept him from death. And not many people are able to grasp what that was like. People were driven by some sort of creed. Greed, lust, pride, hate, wrath... It was all the same for them, to him. Perhaps the only one who might be able to understand that was Rosalia, one who wasn't truly human herself.

He shrugged as he entered his quarters. Of course, he hadn't bothered using either rooms until the girl came aboard. Since then, he decided he should use a room for himself, having to share the same ship with another person.

'_The readings are unusual,'_ he thought at last, thinking back to the last thing the computers were displaying for him. Since last week, the readings were saying that he had fresh oxygen and pure water, when it really should be recycled air and water, which meant it was losing ions as both elements got reused time and again. It was like he had taken a visit to a planet and supplied his ship with new containers.

Of course, it had become obvious when the girl had fully recovered and was up and about.

"Hmm, it seems she's keeping special skills to herself," he said to himself with a smirk. Whether or not she meant to keep to herself, there seemed to be more to her than she let herself to be. And they weren't being kept out of his notice very well. It just gets more interesting, and it was bringing out the better of Riddick, making him able to feel curiosity after so long.

It seemed it had only been five minutes since he had left the cockpit, but it was about two hours later that Rosalia called to him for something. Cracking his neck as he left the quarters, he stealthily approached the front, even though it was quite unnecessary. She turned her head as he came up, and pointed to what caught her attention. An distant floating asteroid was up ahead, and what was crashed into it was a very distinctive ship.

Switching places, Riddick scanned the ship with quick precision. An Elemental ship. Now that had to be something.

"What's an Elemental ship doing here, and crashed of all things..?" Rose said with what sounded like a nervous tone. Elementals, beings utterly driven to create balance. Speaks of neutrality, but it all depends on their preference of one side or the other. "I believe I recognize the hull banner of the ship. It would contain an Water Elemental envoy..." At that, her eyes were shimmering, on the verge of being completely silver.

"You're friends with them, I take it." Riddick wasn't surprised that she would know of them. But was she that worried about them? Or just one of them?

"Some." She seemed to have better control over her emotions, her eyes forced back to their normal color. Though her pupils remained as vertical slits.

Though before she got to say anything further, the com units squeaked to life.

"**This is the **_**Tsunami Ice**_**, requesting for any response."** It had a female voice, one that wasn't particularly worried about her current situation. **"Respond, please."**

Rosalia looked to Riddick, who gave a nod. She leaned forward from her seat and pressed a button. "_Tsunami Ice_, we've received your request. Who're you and how many are alive?"

"**Just myself. I'm Envoy Kiley of the Elemental world."**

Rose blinked a few times, then grinned in spite of her usual reserved responses. "You always seem to jam yourself into situations, Kiley Mizu. Though what are the chances of running into you in space."

"**Wait..."** The tone sounded surprised. **"Is that **_**you**_**, Akshna'Rosalia?"**

"You seem popular these days," the man said next to Rose. She merely shook her head a little. She hadn't expected to run into the one Elemental that swore she'd never return to her home world until she was a full Water Elementalist (Elementalist is one who could fully master his/her element, as well as what the element represents; time to water, life to earth, ect.)

"Sometimes I am," she responded to him before turning her attention back to the voice com. "It is. What happened?"

"**Oh, the asteroid didn't appear on the radar fast enough, and the ship ran into it,"** the girl replied in a cheerful tone. Both Riddick and Rosalia raised an eyebrow. It doesn't surprise Rose how the girl sounded in such a situation, and Riddick would have been less surprised if it had been anyone else but an Elemental. Though _how_ an Elemental ship's radars didn't pick up on an oncoming object, that was a complete mystery. **"You have any room on your ship for one?"**

Now that was the question. But it was Riddick who decided before Rose could even voice an opinion. He reached over and pressed the button, nearly trapping Rose's finger that was previously there.

"You're welcome aboard, as long as you don't mind riding with a convict."

"**Oooh, can that be one Richard Riddick speaking?" **There was a laugh. **"Of course there won't be any complaint from me. Now I'm burning with curiosity of how the two of you came to be in the same ship!"** At that, Rosalia rolled her eyes and shook her head. She was apparently tuned to what the girl's thoughts goes through.

"You can question it later."

After some maneuvering to be as close to the ship as possible, a container spaced out from the ship, easily caught in the pincer arms and stored. As Riddick redirected the ship on its original course, Rosalia had went to the back, and returned five minutes later with their newest guest. She had long flowing blue hair that sometimes seemed like it was water, rippling with every step in its high ponytail. Unlike one Elemental that Riddick had the pleasure to know, this one seemed quite young and youthful, even with her turquoise eyes shimmering with wisdom beyond her appearance. Her clothes were multiple of blues as an ocean, expected of an Water Elemental, long-sleeved and the hem of her robe reaching to her ankles. But unlike Aereon, who was an Air, Kiley was more 'in-style,' as one could put it; she wore pants beneath the robe, her shoes dark blue and reaching up to her ankles though one couldn't tell often because of the rims of the pant-legs.

Simple and light in her appearance, but she was quite beautiful. For an Elemental. Could be a young Elemental at the age of eighteen, or one who could retain her young form at any age.

"Riddick, greatest honor to meet you," she said with some retained excitement as she reached him. Behind her, Rosalia stopped herself from rolling her eyes. But she looked comfortable in this female's presence. "Kiley Mizu, at your service and in your debt." She grinned brilliantly, even though all she would get back was a curt nod. "No Rosie, I hadn't seen our other friend of ours for awhile now, though she's doing just fine," she said as she turned to Rose, who had just begun to open her mouth to ask something.

So Rose blinked instead. "Water Elementalists..." she grumbled half-heartedly.

"An Elemental Envoy and a psychic." Riddick watched the girl behind his goggles closely. "If that's the case, you should have seen that asteroid coming."

She turned back to Riddick and grinned again, though lightly. "I can only see into the future about ten seconds beforehand, Riddick." Then came an exaggerated sigh. "A curse, and yet as I grow older, the further I'll see."

"Coming from an fifty-year-old Elemental, that's saying something."

"Tut-tut, Rosie-dear! Don't interrupt an elder like that!" Kiley chided rather playfully. Riddick had a feeling this woman would be rather annoying at times, but perhaps useful. "But ten seconds into the future is a better chance of seeing something useful, isn't it Riddick?"

"I suppose it would be. But what brought you so far from your world before parking on a rock?"

"I was _going_ to visit Aquila Major and see if it would need an Water Elemental to be of service. After all, we Elementals are quite keen on creating balance, so we're being sent to planets in the process of being rebuilt." She gave an off-handed laugh. "But obstacles are often in the way. I'm sure I don't have to explain _that_ to someone of your calabur! Nor Rose's, for that matter." Now she rounded up on Rosalia. "So, what happened?" she insisted.

"And I thought you can see everything that would happen before it did," Rose said lightly as she had a straight face. Kiley waved it off and pestered Rose for the story. She reluctantly gave the girl of how she was captured on Helion Prime by Merc's, to then be spaced and rescued. In more detail, of course, since Kiley refused to have it cut short from being a good tale.

Riddick mostly tuned out the Elemental's chat, though occasionally listening to the other girl's small sentences. Just what he needed in his party, a chatty Elemental and a silent, deadly woman of unknown origin. But at least it'll keep things interesting. For the short remainder of the trip.

**A tad shorter than the previous two chapters, but still fairly long, I'm happy to report. **_Grins_** A little boring, I'll expect, but it only leads to far-more exciting chapters, wouldn't you say? And any thoughts on these new characters? Well, you can always send me a review about them. Or anything, for that matter, so send away! I'll read them! In the meantime, thank you for reading Chapter Three and see ya at Chapter Four!!**


	4. Chapter 4

Arriving at Aquila Major went smoothly enough. No matter that Kiley was annoying me perhaps a lot more than to Riddick throughout th remaining trip. But things never goes according to plan, especially when you are a most-hunted person, traveling with an even much-more wanted man.

And on that planet, I had to witness perhaps the most strangest day of my life as of this date. I know that Riddick is no regular Furyan... though I wouldn't know how 'normal' a Furyan could be.

The day I'm not hunted for anymore is the day I've drawn my last breathe. Yet somehow, I don't think there'd be peace even afterwards.

**Disclaimer**  
I'm still a lone writer that never hopes to gain profit from fan stories. XD Anyway, enjoy Chapter Four, realize that I still want those reviews, and that I don't own one thing of 'The Chronicles of Riddick.' By the way, I'll add a note at the end of this chapter about Kiley. Anyway, have fun!

The time to the Aquila Major was almost bearable, as it was only about a day away since Rosalia and Riddick had picked up the Elemental, Kiley Mizu. And the girl was fairly quiet, which was surprising to Rose. She was known to be quite chatty when in a ship, and there's nothing to do in the girl's opinion.

Though, admittedly, she was in the same ship with, if not two killers, _the_ Riddick, the murderer of all those that got in his way and hunted him across the universe. And/or annoyed him.

Riddick monitored the main computers of the ship, since there were now two other companions in the same space, one of whom was talking the head off of the other. He listened mostly for any indications of assaulting him from behind, though he doubted that it would happen. After all, Elementals were 'noble,' as was Rosalia in debt to him and seemed to have honor.

But one could never be too careful.

"And behold, there'd be Aquila Major," Kiley suddenly said as she jumped from her seat and pointed dramatically. It merely had Rosalia roll her eyes at her long-time friend.

"Yes yes, now sit down and strap up," Rose sighed as she moved to the second seat in front and followed her own advice. Riddick didn't give any indication of noticing her, though he knew she was there. He started flipping switches, hot-plate shields folding out and covering the front-port from the outside for entering the atmosphere. The control screen activated, appearing on the glass and asking for coordinates. As the man keyed the needed numbers, Rosalia glanced at Kiley for a minute. She was happily strapped down in her seat right behind Rose, and waved when she looked up at the winged-girl. Rose merely nodded as she turned back.

"This won't take long," Riddick said outloud as he allowed automatic control to take over. The hot-plate shielding grew red for many minutes when they finally started to enter the atmosphere of the planet. But when they've got past it and was now cruising in the actual gravity field, the shielding cooled as it folded back to allow the occupants to view. It wasn't a very pretty sight.

"Damn..." Rosalia muttered after a small hiss as she rubbed the base of her horn, watching the landscape.

While the planet had made major improvements, and was coming along nicely, there were still many large-patches of scorched earth. There was little greenery, and when there was a large amounts of it, it was where human settlements were made. The oceans were pitiful compared to its original state, as were the rivers mere streams. They've doubted there was much other life than what the people had managed to save of wildlife.

"And you see why I was sent here," Kiley said in the most indifferent tone one could hear from an Elemental. But Rose knew that the state of the planet was affecting her friend just as it was affecting herself. More or less.

"It's in bad shape, but it's an improvement of what it was left from before," Riddick said mildly as he switched the computers to manual control, taking control of the ship. "My 'business' will take as long as it will take. So don't wait up for me."

"Why Riddick, the way you say that, it's like we'd end up depending on ya for every step!" Kiley said, though in a teasing sort a way an Elemental could do.

"Do not worry about me. I'm just going to hide and stay out of fights if it is possible..." Rosalia muttered lightly, still looking out to the landscape.

"Good choice," Kiley said in a more cheerful voice. Riddick merely gave a small nod in acknowledgment.

Landing in the largest settlement they could find, they docked in the small make-shift ports. There seemed not much to do for Rosalia other than slip on her backpack and step out onto the planet's surface, accustoming to the gravity of the planet. Her face grimaced from a pounding headache, a painful one, closing her eyes tightly for a minute. The ship seemed to have been blocking out more than Kiley or Riddick may think.

Rose would have rather waited on the ship for that fact.

"See you another time, Rosie-dear," Kiley said as she stepped out of the ship before Riddick. She smiled lightly at Rosalia's look on her face. "It'll fade," she promised to her friend, unknowing to anyone of what Rose should hope would fade. "I got my work cut out on this planet. So take care." With a smile and a nod, Kiley took off at a stride. Her hair flowed behind her like a gentle stream, as her walking had a certain bounce that made it seem like she was made of water instead of flesh and blood. Water Elementals...

Riddick came out last as the ramp and door slid back in and sealed itself tightly. He seemed to be the one to have a remote or knew some code to enter the ship again on his own time. As he walked past Rosalia, he didn't even say anything. She could tell that he was going into some sort of setting in his mind. It's probably the way he does jobs or fights, she summarized.

"Good luck," she said in spite of herself. He stopped in mid-step and glanced back at her through his goggles. Probably didn't expect any sort of prayers or however it could be interpreted as.

"Thanks. But you should save your wishes for yourself," he said in reply. The reply surprised the girl as he continued on without another word.

'_Arrogant and confident. Just like a male that have faced countless situations,'_ Rosalia thought to herself, shaking her head. But it suited him, in a strange way.

As Kiley promised, the headache faded slowly as Rosalia walked at her own pace through the settlement. It'll become a city one day, she knew. Perhaps one of the major ones. These people had their work cut out for them, though...

Many looked up at the strange girl. They've never seen a girl with wings, obviously. But she was used to that kind of staring. Much better than leers or looks that just says, 'Ka-ching.'

The day progressed slowly, but Rosalia seemed to have made the most of it. On many occasions, she had stopped to assist people that were in need of a stronger back. As much as the people were strong, they do tend to injure themselves. They were mostly pulling damaged and torched items away to be replaced by supplies that were shipped in.

'_They should have figured out the technology to terraform a planet,'_ she thought to herself. Many books that had been written on Earth were quite science-fiction, made science-fact in many things later on in the years of advanced technology. Terraforming was not one of them yet.

"Thanks," the man she was helping grunted as he finished off welding pieces together of a small building. Taking it as a sign of being dismissed, Rosalia nodded before walking off. She decided that she'd better find a place to camp down for the night. Though with no better options, the best place would be near the spaceship. The world's day was much longer than an Earth day... it had lasted for about nearly twenty hours of daylight, and she was on the planet for about fifteen hours since landing.

Kiley was yet to be seen, though news traveled fast about an water being collecting the lost water in the air and bringing the collected, precious drops to the land. There was already a small river traveling through the wasted lands that had yet to grow anything green. Elementals... always the successful ones that yet decided to be fairly arrogant to the rest of the ordinary humans. Or at least most of them are. Kiley's only annoying with her cheery attitude and confidence.

'_How battles raged everywhere,'_ Rose thought to herself as she sat against the nearest building, where it was hidden from most crowds. Her headache still pounded against her skull; she was starting to think it was drum beating to an unknown song. _'I wonder how Riddick is fairing. Surely he is able to accomplish whatever he had come to do without harm.'_ She almost shook her head. _'Why should I worry about him? After all, he is an experienced fighter and survived even longer. Heh, he's right; I should be keeping my good lucks to myself.'_

- - -

"A-alright! Don't kill me," the man squawked out between stutters. And it had taken about thirteen of his men to be convinced.

"Finally seeing things my way, I see," Riddick said in a low tone, watching the man scurry to the back of the building, him following so that man wouldn't have any funny ideas. This was a place of which scum gathered and did dealings. One of those dealing had something to do with the thing he wanted. A supposed Furyan weapon. They were supposed to have been destroyed along with the rest of the surface of his world.

And he intended to keep the thing away from such scums of the universe.

"I-it's over there," the man said when Riddick snapped his hand up to hold his blade against the man's throat to stop him. He doesn't need to get closer to it.

Riddick walked forward without having to worry about the guy; he was close to pissing himself. Hmph, it was hardly a challenge. The girl had put up a better fight in her weakened condition. Sliding the blade into the seam of the box, it snapped open without much effort. And there was a item unlike much he had seen. But it was debatable if it was of his world...

"You better not have been fucking around with me," he said in a tone that suggested a hint of danger. "'Cause this doesn't look like it should be." The man behind Riddick yelped. He didn't like how this was heading.

"W-we're sure! W-w-where else had i-it been made??" he said in a panicky voice.

'_Where indeed,'_ Riddick thought as he turned to glance at the man.

"I-I suppose that it could be of something else... But when it turned up, w-we couldn't find anything to match, so what could we assume it to come from? There's no other world to think of with that kind of technology!"

"..." Nonetheless, Riddick pulled the weapon from the box, holding it like he would studying a knife. The designs on the thing weren't familiar to him, nor the material. It looked like it was cut from a big gem instead of made of alloyed metals. It shined with the mixture of blue and green, like opal. It was meant to be held by one hand, it being so light and compact. "What had it done when fired?" he asked as he pointed the weapon at the man, just to see a reaction. He just about soiled his pants.

"It shot out a narrow white beam," he answered quickly, holding both hands up in the air. "When it touched a target, it destroyed it, and there'd then be shattered gems."

Now that was interesting. It doesn't sound like any Furyan weapon he'd heard of, nor of any known human weapon engineering. But it brought to one possible species in mind.

"Then I'll be taking this off your hands." He placed the gun-like weapon into a holster that was in the same box, buckling it around his right thigh. "Have fun dealing with the buyer." He smirked as he watched what color was left in the man's face drain away. And then he fainted. Wussy bastard, he hadn't even had blood drawn from his skin. Riddick stepped on the man's back as he headed for the exit. Well, the trip was almost worthless. But the weapon was still better off where it was now. Not to mention he had rescued an Elemental that was helping this planet.

'_Now there seems to be a possibility of that homeworld of hers is still intact. Let's just see how this goes.'_ He smirked again. To tell the girl that he may have found something of her homeworld might just cause a reaction from her. But he'll see soon enough.

Of course, it was if she hadn't got herself caught by some Merc. She seemed to have a knack for doing that. He just might start warming up to her; she was a mystery even to herself, and they were the few beings of their own worlds. They had more in common than they would admit.

- - -

'_Finally, I can get away from him,'_ Ramza thought to himself as he was walking down a street of perhaps the only largest settlement there was. Victor was on his own for now, hunting for a convict that Ramza tracked down in this poor world. Ramza had been complaining about the cramped space of the ship, so he got to get out of it instead of remaining in it like Victor wanted him to.

The day was well past twenty hours, so the moon was hanging over in the night sky and slowly rising. Other than the usual sickness of getting out of space and on a gravity-field planet, though, he had a funny feeling about this planet.

"It has to be the time I get away that I get weird feelings," he said with a laugh. But he was curious of what it could be. He rarely had such feelings, but they've all had led him to something interesting. _'Aww, what the hell. It's my time off,'_ Ramza thought to himself as he looked around. Time to follow... well, not his nose, but the phrase was close enough for him.

Meanwhile in the same settlement, Rosalia rose her head up slowly, her eyes moving to explore the land before her. She was busy ignoring a nagging feeling to get any sort of small rest. But it wasn't going away, and it was just growing stronger. Well, time to act again. No point in waiting for whatever was causing the weird feeling to catch her with her guard down.

Sliding her double-bladed weapon out from mere caution, she stood up with grace of a feline. What a time for whatever it was to come, in the night of all things. With a sigh, she leapt onto the nearest roof from the ground, folding her wings tight against her back. She could hear footsteps nearby. Could be nothing, but she wasn't going to make a mistake of ignoring the sounds. They were faint, yet were close by.

Then they stopped. That couldn't be a good sign. Though she found out soon enough of whom the footsteps had belonged to - she swung around and collided with a familiar blade.

"So jumpy." Riddick's eyes glimmered as he smirked, Rosalia relaxing slightly from knowing who it was. "Far-better reaction to a sneak attack, though. You've stopped me."

"You must be disappointed for some reason with your search," she said as she tilted her head to one side, curious. She was becoming used to his strange ways of his relieving his boredom. Probably didn't have any sort of challenge. "Were you able to be successful?" she asked while slipping her weapon back into its sheath.

Riddick merely lowered his blade and tapped something at his leg. Must mean he had, after all, without much of a fight. So that'd be why he decided to test her again; it was no challenge for him at all to get the thing. "But now I have a question for you."

A question for her? Now that was a strange turn. "What about?" Rosalia asked as she narrowed her eyes in slight confusion. He pulled the object from where it was strapped, and she realized that it was a gun of some sort. Before she even opened her mouth, he tossed it at her.

"Is this familiar?" Some question. But it led to more questions than answers for her. Holding it in her hands, she had a strange feeling. Like she was indeed familiar with it. She had never seen or held such a gun, though, so how could she be familiar with it?

Sliding a finger along the barrel of the gun, she looked thoughtful. The designs were strangely stirring something in her memories. Not to mention it was emitting a strange pulse in her hands, like it was wanting to tell something important. That was just weird. "Not really," she said at last as she tossed it back. As much as the pulse of the gun felt familiar, it was too alien for her to hold it much more for now. "I've never seen a gun like that. It looks much like a gun-shaped gem than a gun itself... Why would I be familiar with it?"

"Just asking." He didn't seem to want to express his thoughts any further as he slipped the gun back into the holster. At least for now. "How's your friend doing with her job?"

"Far as I heard, she'll be worshiped soon enough for gathering what water remains in the air at her pace," she remarked, giving a slight smirk of her own.

"Hm." A comment that didn't need much words. It was interesting to hear, though he was ready to return to the ship. And with that, he turned away with a single wave of a hand, walking to his vehicle.

Remaining outside, Rosalia turned her head to look down the alleyways. Well, she could had thought that the gun was the source of that feeling. But she wasn't so sure about that. Though while the gun remained nearby, she may not know until either it's gone further away or she had. Shaking her head at her own thoughts, she turned back in time to see the ship closing again. She respected the man, at the very least. So why bring something that he was convinced she would know?

'_Whatever, he will tell me another time,'_ she thought to herself as she slid down the roof and landing on the ground below. _'Now that he woke my adrenalin system, I better go do something...'_

Well, she didn't need to search long. The feeling had grown to the point that she thought her hair would stand on end. She had only walked a few blocks before she crouched down, the pupils of her eyes shrunk and became more diamond-shaped. She growled in a low voice, carrying a warning. She didn't know what to think of the intense feeling, good or bad.

A growl answered back, answering to her challenge. He wasn't about to back down, whoever he was. Not a smart move in the girl's opinion. Her knuckles cracked from snapping her fingers out for maximum slashing damage, leaping into the shadows of the direction the growl came from. She was not taking any chances. And she certainly wasn't about to back down, either.

Well, things continued to whirl around in the settlement, back with Riddick. He knew that without even having to think on it. He was opening the hatch of the ship to step back outside when he noticed two things; Rosalia had disappeared, and there was a sound of a fight going on. The hatch closed behind him with a sealing-hiss.

'_Getting into fights, even though she said she was going to avoid them,'_ Riddick mused before taking off at a steady, fast pace. It wasn't hard to follow the sound. But they were highly unusual. The sounds were more like two big cats battling than two humans. Yowls and snarls were indefinitely not human noises, last anyone checked.

Jumping onto a roof that looked over the alleyway where the fight was held, Riddick pulled his goggles back off his eyes to watch more closely. It was Rose all right, fighting with hand-to-hand (or was it claw-to-claw?) techniques against a guy. He was using no weapons, either, using only his hands and claws to counter against hers. There were gashes on both of their shoulders and arms. The fighting difference stood out more; Rose was out to defend herself. The man was fighting out of surprise and curiosity.

Pulling out his blade, Riddick waited for an opening. The fight was a close-combat between the two below him. Neither were about to give up. And both were getting beaten up pretty good.

To the man, it was Ramza of Victor's group. Not only did he find something interesting, he found it challenging. He was starting to reach a limit in this fast but brutal fight.

When something had growled at him from around the corner, he was instantly on alert. And he was confident to send a growl back to whoever's challenge, readying for a fight. She flew around the corner and swiped at him, scoring a hit on his shoulder before he reacted.

It turned out to be the very same target Victor had his eye on until he had to space his prize. She was ferocious as she was fast. Faster than he was. But she was also lacking a little in strength, though to an average man, it would knock him silly. Ramza was no mere human, nor was he an actual human. He pushed her away and charged, swiping at her wings. She had leapt from his range as she growled loudly.

As the two of them had slowed in their battle, trying to figure out one another's next move, Ramza blinked at he took in the appearance of his opponent. A familiar sight to his eyes, something that he hadn't expect to see of another. What a time to find someone of his ruined homeworld.

But before he could decide what to do next, another being leapt into action. Ramza barely dodged the man's blade, flipping backwards and landing some feet away. Another surprise, though it was to the man's dismay. But he pushed that to the back of his mind as he went to attack the man. He was ready to react, his blade coming up and knocking away Ramza's hands without any effort. But Ramza wasn't making an effort, either.

Ramza grabbed a hold of a wrist of the new attacker, the one with the weapon. Needless to say, though, Ramza realized he made an mistake of doing that. A pulsing power shocked him, powerful enough to hold him fast like electricity if it had lasted more than five seconds. With a yelp, he let go and landed far away. That burst of power was like a blue sheen of faded light, disappearing quickly, but the feeling lingered there.

"Now hold on, I'm not going to attack anymore," Ramza said as he held both hands up in the air, surrendering easily. The man before him was ready to attack again. "Not when I've found I had made an error of attacking a sister."

"A what now?" the girl said as her eyes were narrowed, relaxing very little as she watched the man from the side of the other man.

"A sister. We're both of the Yamako race, you see." The man couldn't believe he had indeed found someone of the same race as he. He had thought he was the very last.

"We're not the same, whatever species I am," the girl hissed. Well, that was a strange twist.

"You seem quite certain of it," the other man said while he had slowly lowered his blade, watching Ramza. No surprise was on his face, but it just might be from either distrust, or from a careful control over his reactions. Ramza could bet on the second one.

"Well, erm, I am." Ramza dropped his hands to his sides, his fingers relaxing.

"If you're of the same world, then why don't you look like her?"

Ramza rubbed the back of his head, watching the two figures before him. They seemed to be comrade-in-arms. Well, if one was a comrade of someone as her, he couldn't be that bad. Or at least Ramza hoped so. "You don't know where you've come from?" he asked, not answering the man's question, looking at the girl. "You don't understand the connection? _We're of the people of Yamako, my sister; tied by our connection to nature."_ The last two sentences were of a language that apparently was not understood by Riddick. It was not English he had heard.

"I'm not invisible," Riddick said while Rose seemed to not have an answer to whatever he said. "But either answer or get the hell out of here."

Ramza was used to threats by many, whether convicts or employers. Though the man in front of him gave that bad feeling that he could very well follow through with his silent threat. But Ramza wasn't going to simply back down and scamper like a dog with his tail between his legs.

"Head on back," Riddick gruffly said suddenly as he glanced at the girl. "Let me handle this." There was probably a hidden meaning, but it was unknown to Ramza. Though Rosalia understood it perfectly well; if things were to get rough, she probably shouldn't be there. She wasn't at full strength still, and the stranger was messing with her thoughts, as well. She hesitated at first, but then nodded curtly, strangely obeying. She disappeared around the corner, and there was silence. The stranger gave a start when she walked off, but he held his tongue.

"Why did you send her off?" Ramza asked in confusion when it seemed like half an hour had passed, though the reality was that it was only three minutes. The man before him was merely holding his cool gaze. "I hadn't seen another like myself since I was sent off-world."

"You're one to talk. But she doesn't need confusion, not from a stranger. A normal-looking stranger."

"...Why I don't have wings and horn is because of a device I was given before I was sent away." There seemed no way of avoiding the man's questions other than running. When he remained silent, Ramza sighed as he reached up to his neck where his collar was at, unsnapping it and pulling it from his neck. His face grimaced in pain as a pair of wings pushed from his skin, at first featherless, but then sprouting and rapidly growing pale-gold feathers. A horn prodded from his forehead as well, silver with a golden wrap-spiral. Then last came the tail, naked until it grew pale-golden fur with silver spots. And they all came out from specifically-placed holes of his clothes.

Needless to say, that was a surprise. Maybe invisibility or cloaking, but this? Not expected.

"This represses certain genes of my body. Fucking painful both ways... but useful," Ramza said with a hopeless shrug. "Can't do anything about my feet, though other than that, I can pass as a normal human." Makes sense now for the convict, obviously. Good thing he wouldn't have to go through those extremes.

"Interesting," Riddick said in a normal tone while Ramza had placed the collar back onto his neck. Another moment of pain as all of what just happened hit reverse, retracting back into his skin; and then he was 'normal' again. "So what did you mean by 'connection?'"

"Well... that's a bit more complicated to explain..." He sighed again. "It used to have been confidential, by the laws of our Council, and not to be explained to an outsider they don't trust..." he mumbled. He seemed to want to talk, but not at the same time about it.

"Though that connection would be how you ended up finding her." It was point-blank, and obvious to Riddick. Though most things just said would have been misunderstood by those without a brain, he was able to grasp it quickly. "Try not following her unless she wants to be found. Or wanting to be connected, whatever the case."

"It's not that simple," Ramza countered. "It's something that normally can't be suppressed but by the most bluntest or dull-minded."

"Then pretend to be dull-minded for the time being."

Ramza had many emotions flash, as well as running half-thoughts that he would have liked to say. Riddick could tell that the man was almost angry as his eyes flashed from green to gold, then back again, much like Rosalia's had when reaching a point. But he sighed instead, giving in. He knew he was tip-toeing on a silver lining somewhere.

"I guess until then... here." Ramza unsnapped another collar that he had wrapped around his wrist twice in order for it to fit and not slide off. He tossed it to Riddick. "Victor's on the planet. So she may want to have more cover than some cloak."

"Victor, you say." Riddick caught the thrown black collar, smirking. "You're of his company."

"Only until I get enough money worth my while. I plan to bail; Victor isn't the greatest guy to stand with. I'm not dying for him." Ramza held his hands up for a brief minute.

"Then bail before Rosalia knows of your present company. I'm not going to make it my responsibility to saving your ass."

"Don't flatter yourself, I wouldn't even want your help," Ramza said, almost hissing from the insult it caused on his pride.

"Wouldn't dream of it." The smirk deepened as Ramza huffed much liked a cat would, turning away and dashing off. He was faster than Riddick expected, though he had yet to see Rosalia in running action. Who knew what they were capable of. But for now, Riddick was just satisfied of the scoreboard. Riddick; 1. The stranger; 0.

**Ha ha, not to bad of a chapter. XD Interesting twists and turns that my mind could think of in reasonable ways! Anyways, on to Kiley. Why make her annoying? Well, as Aereon the Wind Elemental was annoying by being, in my opinion, arrogant and self-righteous, why not make an Water Elemental annoying in a different way: cheerful, energetic, and constantly see what you're going to say before YOU knew what you were going to say? XD That's my explanation, lol. Send me reviews, and stay tuned for more chapters! Just because it takes me forever to find a way to get online doesn't mean I hadn't been working ;D**


	5. Chapter 5

So a guy makes his first appearance, and everything seems to flip upside-down since then... Even though he spoke in a language I can sort of understand, it's something to be cautious of... No matter what my instincts tells me.

Riddick is curiously acting... I couldn't say 'protective,' but he has been keeping a closer eye on me. Seems Victor is on the planet, as well... Much fun. Perhaps I'll get to return that bullet to him, after all. But it can't be because of Victor that Riddick is acting like this.

Maybe it does have to do with that one man. But why..? Much to wonder about, think about...

**Disclaimer**  
I don't own anything of 'The Chronicles of Riddick,' nor will I ever. To RiddicksGurl, I can't possibly say anything about what you're asking, now can I? *Grin* I'd just ruin it all for you! Anywho, to all the fans of this story, please enjoy Chapter 5!

Many things to ponder of as Riddick returned to the ship at last. The girl waited near it, like he thought she would. She had her arms crossed, and she had her eyes closed in deep thought. But she wasn't so involved in them, as she opened her eyes and turned to watch Riddick. Her eyes were silver still; she hadn't relaxed just yet.

"So what happened..?" Rosalia asked as he finally reached the ship. Immensely curious, as well as troubled.

"Well, he's what he said he was," Riddick answered as he started entering his ship. "Just hidin' his accessories a bit better than you could."

Rosalia almost grabbed his shoulder, but she thought better of it. "How....? I mean, is he really something like... me?" she said softly while her hand went back to her side, the one that almost gripped his shoulder. She shook her head, trying to get her composed face back. "It is not a trick, then?"

"Obviously not, unless he was an illusion of both of our imaginations," Riddick said with a chuckle. The girl immediately huffed quietly to herself; she was really letting her emotions control her more than they should... "He came with a warning for ya, though, when he realized who your are exactly. Victor's on the planet."

Rosalia didn't gasp like one would think. She merely narrowed her eyes as she slowly smirked; one of her fangs showed, completing the look of pure evil. "Is that right..?"

"Shouldn't be picking fights, girl," Riddick said half-seriously as he looked back at her. The ship had just finished opening for him.

"Please, like you should be the one lecturing," she said with an amused look to her face. "But of that guy, would he tell Victor of my presence here on the planet?"

"Something tells me no," Riddick answered. "But all the same, the citizens may give ya up for nothin', since you're the one weird girl giving everyone you see a helping hand." The girl sighed, and he knew he scored, making her rethink about going after Victor without a plan. "But the guy had given me something useful for you."

He tossed the collar at her, in which she caught it with no trouble. But she looked confused. "What am I supposed to do with a dog collar..?"

"It does what it had for the guy you casually picked a fight with. But he warned that it'll be a little painful, though the whole trouble would be worth it."

With a shrug after a minute, she placed it on her neck and buckled it in place. The results were immediate; her face lost its mask as she gasp in pain from the retraction of her wings, horn and tail. Gritting her teeth, she merely clenched her hands into fists until the whole thing finished. She was now 'normal.'

"Not too bad," he commented as she blinked her eyes. Reacting from his words, she tried to look at where her wings were once at. She barely avoided falling from imbalance she was experiencing. "Seems it'll be something you'll have to get better at."

"Peachy, I may be 'normal,' but I cannot stay on my own two feet," she grumbled as she found she should lean against the ship.

"You'll get used to it soon enough." Riddick didn't seemed that concerned while he entered his ship. With an impatient sigh, Rosalia followed, managing to stay up long enough to do so. "So what did he mean, when he mentioned something about feet?" He knew that Rosalia would know what he was talking about, regardless that she wasn't there to hear throughout the conversation. It was curious to even hear the mention of feet. Must mean that she wouldn't have normal feet like most would assume.

With a sigh and a grumble that sounded much like, "Is nothing a secret anymore..?," she pulled her shoes off. Instead of five toes for each foot, it was four slender and furred ones, the fur reaching past her ankle and traveling somewhere to her knees. With a few cracks, she was suddenly taller than she had seemed, since she was on her actual 'feet,' though they were more-like paws. The feet, as well as the ankle, were too much of a cat than a humans' feet. "This is what he was talking about," she said lightly, having a look that said that he shouldn't say any comment on them.

"Ingenious way to hide them," he merely commented. She must have had those shoes made to especially hide them, as well as make them useful for her movements. Normal shoes may have restricted her rather than help. The new height was still shorter than him, though he was tall as it was, anyway. "I wouldn't have expected it."

"Yeah, well, another way it makes me a freak," she laughed while she slid her shoes back on, her feet cracking again to snap back into place she had them. She winced slightly, but otherwise didn't say anything. "I take it this device doesn't do anything for one's feet."

"He said so." Strangely, Riddick preferred her real appearance, but it seemed fit to not say something along those lines. After all, her neck's in danger again of her current hunter. "Think you'll run into him again?"

"I have no doubt I will." She rolled her eyes. "But I am not in the mood for riddles he may spew at me the next time..."

"Who knows. Though it seems likely he'll come after you just to ask many questions."

"Isn't he supposed to be with Victor?"

"Apparently, being one of his species gives you special privileges."

"Urgh..."

- - -

The night was rather restless for Rosalia, having laid on the bed while witnessing strange dreams. They were vague, not to mention confusing and frightening. From a distance above a strange planet's surface, about fifty feet above the lands, she was watching many fuzzy and blurred people looking up to the skies as they clutched their loved ones. A few pods left the planet's surface, something strange to the girl. Why weren't they all leaving in the same manner, from whatever that's making them scared? They all seemed to be looking at her, but it was past her that made them weary of impending doom. She turned around, and she was watching the oncoming large object, looking like a meteor that surly could make scientists think it was the cause of the dinosaurs' extinction.

It nearly had hit the planet when she woke up in a cold sweat. Something that happened so rarely that she nearly shredded the sheets in an attempt to calm herself. By this point, the sun had finally risen over the horizon and was starting its journey across the planet's surface. For ten minutes, she laid there perfectly still, before she decided she couldn't sleep any more.

Riddick was already awake and was outside, doing a quick inventory check of his ship. Rosalia supposed that since he was traveling in space all the time, he made it a habit. He only nodded at her before returning to his work, in which meant he had no use of her for the time being. With weary steps, being the first day without her usual balancing tail, she pulled out her retro-old MP3 player, sliding one earpiece in an ear as she slowly walked from the ship. She may as well get out of Riddick's hair (metaphorically speaking).

What a strange scene as she walked through the crowd. No one bothered to spare her a second glance! To the humans', she was normal and not worth attention. It was a first, and she felt like it was a gift. She may just get used to it.

Her sight, smell, and hearing hadn't diminished a bit. She could still see details most people couldn't even hope to see, hear that of which were faint to a humans' ears, smells that many people were fortunate enough to have such weak noses. Many details she had to constantly process in her mind without effort, only paying more attention when she was on the hunt for something or someone.

Recognizing the feeling from the night, she turned her head, scanning through the faces of the crowd. There, with dozens of people between them, was that man. He was watching her closely, though he gave half a smile when he noticed she was looking at him before turning away. Rosalia mentally sighed to herself; she was going to have a stalker on her hands if this kept up. Though, all the same, she was curious of him as well.

'_Would it hurt to talk to him?'_ she thought to herself. As if on cue, he looked back over to her, an eyebrow raised in her direction. Jerking her head in the opposite direction, she started walking to the small shop that must have only recently been built. It wasn't getting much business at this time of day, since most people were working. Almost perfect time to visit. By the time she had ordered her coffee special, the guy made it through the crowds and had joined her there. "For being similar to me, you are quite slow on getting here," she said with a smirk. He merely laughed as he pulled out cash to get something for himself.

"I dun know, you got here without a sea of people to push through. 'Ey, I want a coke," he said to the man behind the counter. "Sooo, last night wasn't the best way to introduce ourselves." He raised his hand to Rose with a smile. "I'm Ramza."

"Rosalia," she replied as she shook his hand for a few seconds. "You were a challenge."

"I'd have to say that if it wasn't for that one dude, you could have beaten me," he said nonchalantly. _"Good fight, little sister."_ It was said in that language from last night.

"Thanks... I guess," she responded as she took her coffee and paid for it. She understood the language, but she didn't know how to respond to it.

He followed after her when he got his soda, looking concerned. "You can understand, but you can't say it back?" he asked as he raised a hand.

"One of those habits you forget when you do not even remember what your birth parents look like," she replied cooly. He pulled his hand back with a mocking 'Ouch, that burned' look. At least he had a sense of humor, she supposed.

"So you got sent off at an earlier age than I had." He grinned. "Or you're younger than me, in which means that if we were sent off at the same time, you wouldn't remember, whereupon I would."

"Gee, such a quick assumption." Just a few exchanges, and it seemed natural to talk to this man. That was strange for Rosalia to think of it that way.

"Sooooo how come you're on the high wanted list?" he asked casually as they stopped near a building to hide from the sun, sipping their drinks.

"Oh. You know. A few incidents here, a couple of murders done there." She noted as he blinked many times.

"You _can_ kill?"

"I would assume that was a rhetorical question..."

"No, I mean..." He sighed. "Well, in our species' nature, it's... almost impossible to kill."

"I know." He looked at her. "It is not that hard to realize that when others are hurting, you hurt right along with them. Bleeding, for example. Headaches are also another indicator."

"Oh. Ur, yeah, basically. Though I guess females would feel pain more... I never bled from someone else's pain." Seemed to be the case for them, anyway.

"I only had to when I had no other choice. I do not exactly enjoy killing." Rosalia rolled her eyes. "I am still trying to figure if it is the same case for him." Him, meaning Riddick. But if he hadn't told Ramza his name, she shouldn't even be mentioning his name in others' presence.

"Yeeaaah, somethin' tells me that he does it the same way as you, whoever he is." Ramza slurped at his soda, looking as though trying to pull the name from the girl's memory by waiting. He would be waiting for many, many years before she would ever mention it. "Are ya comrades?"

"In a sense..."

"Who's innocent??" said a very-familiar voice as the person with the voice hung in front of them upside-down. Ramza sputtered out his soda and onto his shirt, but Rosalia quietly laughed as she sipped at her coffee. "Ah! Can I have some, Rosie?? Please???"

"Get down from there, and you can have the rest," Rosalia said casually. Kiley flipped off the roof and landed in front of them with grace. Not-so-much grace when Rose offered the coffee and Kiley grabbed at it like it was the last cup of coffee on the planet. "You must be running yourself tired to be so grabby."

"You know, Elemental issues to tend, much to fix," she managed to say between gulps. "So this'iz Ramza?" Kiley asked as she finished the cup and grinned.

"How'd you-"

"-Know your name? If I had stayed quiet for ten seconds, Rosie would have told me." She laughed at the expression he had on his face. "Oh, so much fun to pick on the less-informative ones." She looked at Rosalia and smiled. "Alright, I'll tell him before he has a heart-attack." If Rosalia wasn't so used to Kiley's unorthodoxive ways to respond, she would have punched her friend. Or at least glared. "As an Water Elemental who achieved the title 'Elementalist,' not only can I control water and ice, I can glance into the future each and every ten seconds." She grinned at Ramza's dumbfounded look. "Not many can do that, nope! Only the most-dedicated can, though yes, it is confusing to constantly remember that I live in the present and not the future as the two blends for me so often."

"Is that right?" It seemed Kiley stole the questions he was going to ask. Regardless, though, he grinned. He was intrigued by her. "Is all your friends like this?" he asked Rosalia.

"Oh no. I usually would kill myself before making friends like her," she responded with a small smirk.

"Ouch, now that hurts," Kiley said, but she laughed, ruining the look of hurt and betrayal she tried to put on her face. "Where'd be that one guy from that one place from that one time?"

"Even in the midst of enjoyment, you two keep secrets..."

"Just one of those things," they replied to him at the same time. He rolled his eyes.

"Rosie-dear, I would love your help with stuff. I mean, I still have a lot of work to do with the water and all, but we do need a little... ah, boost to the planet's economy system." She winked at Ramza. "You probably dun have her special talent."

"Which special talent?" he asked. But Rose sighed to herself.

"Nature-related..." she mumbled.

"Ah... No, that wouldn't be my specialty." He grinned. "Mine is forging metals together however I need to have them." It was Rosalia's turn to look at him in surprise. "Each of us has our own special traits, while we do have traits that we share."

"Hm."

"Talk, talk, talk - are you two finished so that I can whisk the lovely Rosie away at long last??" Kiley huffed. Ramza laughed while Rosalia sighed to herself. "Good enough for me!" She grabbed Rose's wrist and pulled her away before either of them could say a word against it. "You can have what's-his-face for awhile while I have her!"

"Eh? What's-his-face - oh." It was all that was needed when he turned around to realize that he wasn't going to be so alone like he thought he would. "So you do appear in daylight," he joked lightly, more-so to humor himself than Riddick, who didn't look that amused. "No wonder you two ended up in the same team," he mused to himself while scratching the back of his head. Riddick kept walking, not in the mood to be messed with. "'Ey, wait up!"

Meanwhile, Kiley dragged Rosalia past the outer limits of the small settlement, right to the desolate and scorched-plains. It took only a few minutes once Rose realized she was not escaping Kiley's grasp, so they had ran to get there quickly. "Gee, good thing we will be way out here so that I would not have an audience," Rosalia commented when they stopped. She felt a little winded, but otherwise was getting better at the whole gravity deal. After all, she was still recovering from the space ordeal.

"That's the whole point, but the planet does need the help, regardless of you havin' an audience or not," Kiley said with a serious look on her face. But she smiled lightly. "It's a large planet, but the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels needs to be leveled out before any more settlers arrives next week. Just this and a few favors, and I'm your slave forever."

"No, you wouldn't. But it was a nice gesture all the same. Though I would do more favors just to keep you from becoming a slave to me," Rose added with a light tone.

"You're seriously no fun at all. But I'll take it as a gracious and humble Elemental should, and allow you to work," Kiley said with a grin. Always the 'gracious' and 'humble' terms. Neither applied at all for this girl, nor for most of the Elemental race. Though Rosalia would never say it out loud; let the Elementals continue to think so without her input.

"Enjoy yourself." Kiley walked off, leaving Rose alone in the scorched plains. With a sigh as she slipped the fallen earphone back into her ear, she waited until Kiley was gone before she started her 'work.' Which, for her, was singing softly to herself as that strange talent worked through her voice. However it worked, it had and will do a better job than any Earth Elemental could...

Ramza was still with Riddick, but he had fallen silent after perhaps two minutes of asking questions. He can take a major hint. Riddick gave no indication of _not_ wanting Ramza there, so he assumed it was safe to follow around with the guy.

"...So, Rosalia had taken to the collar right away," Ramza said airily, not expecting any answer from the silent man. "She wasn't what I expected of another... well, you know. But I guess being sent away from home at a younger age seemed to have made her entirely less of 'the People' than if she had been with proper parents." He shrugged to himself. "I'm not saying that the way she's living is bad... It kinda suits her perfectly."

"You talk an awful lot about someone you hardly know," Riddick finally said. "You really should hold back your comments."

"W-what'd I say?? I mean, she's still _ey kuzel risoit milv gys Yamako_, er, a little sister of the People," he quickly added when Riddick ever-so-slightly turned his head to raise an eyebrow, "no matter what I say. It's just a relief to finally find someone of the same homeworld."

"Mm." Riddick wasn't exactly the person to talk to about 'relief of finding another like him.' He had met someone of his planet. It wasn't a pleasant thing like it was for Ramza... the other Furyan had walked into the winds of Crematoria and was utterly roasted, his final decision to act against the faith he didn't believe in. Not exactly the best reunion of 'two brothers' for anyone.

Riddick was willing to let Rosalia do what she wanted with the knowledge of another being like her. But he wasn't going to be so lenient for Ramza. The guy was out of luck to any consideration to taking Rose for himself. She was a fighter Riddick had grudgingly come to respect, and maybe trust. But the future would show if she was worthy of that trust; after all, Riddick had his trust broken, however slightly, by one man he risked his neck to save on several occasions. Hm, how interesting...

"And speaking of her, she's in those fields," Ramza lightly commented. Of course, there wasn't much to be seen. Ramza's eyes, though without heat-seeking abilities, had sharp-vision to see so far out. It took only a moment for Riddick to see a single person out there in the distance. "Wow, she's fast with those plants," he then whistled. There was grass, and even a few young trees that already sprouted. They weren't giving that much heat, but they were still there to be seen.

"You care to elaborate more about what she's doing, exactly?" These two people of the 'Yamako' were far from any hope of being 'normal' when it came to their unique abilities.

"Uh, well, I dun know _how_ exactly she's doing it, but she's growing plants... at a faster rate than any green-thumbed human could hope," Ramza said while he rubbed the back of his head. "Though I hear her, kinda. Sounds like she's singing."

"Singing..?" Too odd of a concept. Rosalia's personality doesn't suit to any sort of 'singing.' The most Riddick had thought on first impression was a whistle, one in which she just might do while maiming Victor. "Her singing grow plants? Now what sounds more ridiculous; singing to make plants grow or planting seeds and using a machine to do the process of making green stuff grow?"

"Truthfully? The second one; it wasn't that uncommon for a good portion of Yamakos to be so tuned with Nature that something so simple as a touch, or a thought, or even a drop of blood or tear, would render a lifeless tree to spring back to life." Ramza shrugged. "Never so much of the voice, though. I've always thought it was more of a physical connection for those of Nature. Hers is a slightly new concept to me. IF it is her voice doing the work. For all I know, she's singing while doing one of the common following."

How convenient to weasel his way out of a tight squeeze. But, all the same, interesting. So when Ramza changed course to Rosalia, so had Riddick.

If Riddick hadn't had any first impressions of Rose as they were approaching, the impression would have been that she was either clumsy or an idiot. As he and Ramza neared the edge of the grass (though she was still about twenty feet or so away), she fell as soon as she turned around to see who was coming. Heh, a tail must be far-more than a random accessory for her.

"You okay?" Ramza yelled at her as they neared her.

"Oh, I am dandy, I am just conversing with the grass over here..." said a muffled reply. Riddick chuckled lowly as Rosalia moved to a sitting position. "What are you two doing so far out here?" she asked while slightly-tilting her head to the side in curiosity. It seemed to be her trademark when she was curious of anything.

"Eh, shootin' the breeze, escaping the crowds," Ramza said casually. Riddick wasn't very impressed with his answer, but didn't comment. "Where'd Kiley go?"

"No idea. She is being herself, regardless being an Elemental..."

But it seemed Kiley knew she was being talked about. Though she didn't appear to be in a cheery mood. As soon as she got to them, she had a serious face, one for a battle.

"A man is coming this way for Rosalia," she said formally. It was the first time to hear her use Rose's name in a formal way. It really was serious for her. "He had learned of her by some of the locals."

"Victor?" Ramza rendered a guess. A curt nod answered him, and he sighed heavily. "He is obviously willing for another shot at half a mil..." Then he shook his head. "I guess I've found my reason to leave his little 'team' now. To hell with him."

"Good," Riddick said. "'Cause otherwise, you were going to be a hazard needing to be taken cared of." Though while Ramza had made it clear for them that he wouldn't be fighting for Victor, it didn't mean he wouldn't try his own tricks against them if he choose to. He better keep his battles from being between him and Riddick or Rosalia. Or Kiley, from how she seemed to be at the moment. "How long until he gets here?" Riddick asked the Elemental.

"Two minutes, with his ship and crew."

"He's bringin' his ship? Overkill for someone like him," Ramza commented.

"All the better. Might as well take care of them all." Rosalia sighed to herself. She looked to the others. "You know, you do not have to fight them... They are coming for me." As she said this, she removed the collar, and didn't make any indications to the small amount of pain as the undoing process worked. She stood up, winged and all at last. "This is more-so my fight than any of yours."

"Fuck that, Rose," Kiley, surprisingly, said with a hard glare in the direction of where Victor should be making his appearance. "I'm not going to stand aside and watch you fight someone like him. I refuse to be neutral for this one."

"Eh, I was going to do it anyway," Ramza said with a shrug. "Not my cup of tea to let someone like you fight alone, either. I'm gonna join whether you say I could or not."

Riddick didn't say any sort of 'encouragement' like the two had; he merely flipped his knives out and spun them on the palm of his hands before gripping them lightly. "It should be a challenge," he merely said in a tone that said he was wanting to get involved.

Well, so much for being the only one to fight and perhaps get injured. But she appreciated the support. Not what she expected, not with the little time she knew of two and a long-ago friendship of another. She probably couldn't ask for better comrades.

Sure enough, the promised ship arrived with a flare, landing on the ground in front of them, ever-so burning away fresh, new grass in the process. Rosalia growled at that fact, but otherwise seemed to be a statue as the hatch opened to show Victor on the other side, grinning ear-to-ear. Like he had won the prize at some show.

"So ya did survive!!" he crowed as he flicked a cigarette from his fingers and onto the ground. "Why, I'd kiss ya for bein' alive. That half mil is solid gold once more."

"Oh, shove your gold up your ass," Ramza said for the first time, a hard look to his face. "You are not going to get her on your ship."

Victor blinked at least three times as he took in all who were standing with Rosalia. He frowned at Ramza like he was disappointed. "Well, fuck me runnin' sideways. I didn't expect you to betray me. Eh, it seems I can't get any good and loyal help these days, but damn, you were the best tracker I ever had." Victor stepped out of the ship, with his crew following with guns loaded and ready.

"If you survive this, you'll live without me," Ramza cooly replied, not very intimidated by the guns pointed at them.

"Now, some blue-chick, ready to water the flowers. Why don't you run off before you seriously get hurt, girly? Someone so pretty as you would be a nice addition to any good 'establishment.'" He emphasized on the last word. Other words, he thought she would be a good whore.

As he was about to light another cigarette, a small and thin icicle sliced right into the middle of it and hit his tongue, making him jump. He tasted blood, and now his cig was soaked as the icicle suddenly melted. He could see the girl half-smirking before she straightened back up. "Never try to _attempt_ to think that an Elemental would be stooped so low as what you're suggesting," she said, her voice oddly but suitingly icy to the ears.

"An Elemental?!" one of the crew members whispered vigorously to the others. Obviously, what confidence they had suddenly was cut by at least half. Fighting any Elemental was beyond what they knew, and this wasn't in their contract.

"You're no better than the next whore," Victor said without much worry, shrugging. His crew relaxed slightly. Apparently, Victor's confidence didn't wavered. Then he turned his eyes on the remaining member of the 'resistance.' "Huh... It's like I should know ya. Can't place yer face on anything important, though."

"Heh..." Riddick was going to enjoy doing this without an identity. Perhaps the idiot would recall at the last second before he was snuffed out by any one of them. "Then you'll have to find out the hard way," he said in a gruff voice.

"He's s-c-r-e-w-e-d," Ramza said so quietly, it wouldn't reach any of Victor's crew, but it did reach Victor. But only just. He barely made anything out beyond the letter 'c.' He got the jest of it, though, one way or another.

"We'll take you on, and we'll walk away with half a mil. I ain't losin' to a bunch of freaks like you. I guarantee you that."

"We will just see how this goes..." Rosalia said in a dangerous tone, ready to attack. But she hadn't forgotten a promise she made to herself. No, she wouldn't forget it. Not even if a year passed by before she came face-to-face with Victor again.

After sliding something from her right pocket, she whirled so fast that no one could actually count how many times she did turn in just two seconds. But an instant later when she slowed, Victor yelled out as something slammed into his knee, digging in and nearly nicked his knee cap before resting somewhere in his muscles, in a place that made it almost impossible to bend his knee. Much less walk with it in there.

"That was a promise I made, now fulfilled... so now, I hope you go to hell," she said as Victor clutched at the closest man near him. He will have no help coming for him, not for his wound... or his life.

**What a place to stop a chapter. XD I wanted to keep going... but it felt right to stop **_**here**_** for some reason. Maybe I was just getting sleepy, but still. I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! Now we're getting into more action! I can hear your 'Woot!!!' through the interent, lol. See ya next time soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

The fight with Victor was too short in my opinion. But it was one of those battles none would soon forget. That much is certain.

A problem soon arises, though, and that makes me worry, just a little. Apparently, it was something that needs to be resolved. The problem is that it won't be easy to do.

In the meantime, though, it seems that we're a group now; myself, Riddick, Kiley, and Ramza. Can we actually work together, or is it one of those things that would fall apart real quick? Riddick thinks so, though Kiley is confident that it wouldn't. We're not a 'psycho-fucked family,' or however Riddick called it, in her opinion.

I guess time will tell...

**Disclaimer  
**I don't own Riddick, nor any of its characters, plots and/or planets. The only things I do have a claim on are characters and planets that will never make an appearance in the movies and books, since I created them. That is all. XD

"Get them!" Victor growled through his gritted teeth, and the next few minutes were hectic. Bullets whizzed by, some grazing skin along the way. But the four people surrounded by Mercs were avoiding them like they were flying by in slow motion. Though obviously for Kiley, it was, but the others just had the reflexes only the Mercs could wish they had. Rosalia spun for several bullet-seconds before going in at one Merc, who panicked. Throwing his weapon in the way, he tried to pull the trigger. But the weapon was thrown from his grip, along with his hand. He screamed from the dismemberment of his limb before he was knocked silly by Rosalia's fist at the back of his head, just above the neck.

With one less Merc at that second, that meant one less weapon firing. But Riddick made quick work with his current target, his blades in hand. Leaping right into the air with forward momentum, he crossed his blades, then sliced forward as he got within the Merc's reach. The head went flying, and he didn't feel sorry one bit as the body crumpled behind him. He looked up and moved in time for the butt of an gun aimed at his head. With a smirk that quickly spelt death for the Merc that just tried a move that was his last mistake, Riddick spun around to the back of the man and sank one blade in the sweet spot. Blood gushed out with fevered relief as he yanked his blade back out, already scouting for the next man stupid enough to be fighting them.

All the while, Kiley had taken one for herself, which was Razor. With a smile as though a mother was trying to coax her child out of the mud, she watched him as he uneasily gazed back at her. It was amazing that Kiley seemed to put him out of his want to fight with only a look.

"Why yes, you'd find that Elementals are all that you've heard, and more," she said as though he had asked a question. Which, in all reality, he was going to ask it if she had kept silent. "It'd be a good time to back out and leave your employer."

His eyes bugged from the answers to his unspoken questions. But at least he had the smarts unexpected of a Merc. With a nod, he withdrew the barrel of his gun from its target and moved away. He looked sullen, as though Victor would figure out who was suddenly betraying him, but Victor wasn't paying the least bit of attention. Ramza was keeping all of his attention at that moment. After all, he was in his face and was throwing punches that were unexpected of Ramza; Victor thought he was a geek, nothing more.

"Why are ya helpin' her, anyway?" Victor said, attempting to taunt Ramza. "Did she promise ya a good fuck for doin' this?"

"Heh, you're so naive," Ramza said instead, a mocking grin replacing his frown. "It'd be stupid to fight _her_ instead." He scored a blow in the chin, though in the same exchange, Victor had slammed the butt-end of his Gatling gun into Ramza's eye. Ramza cried out and stumbled back, while Victor was only stunned for a few minutes. He may be unable to walk very well without pain shooting up from his knee, thanks to the girl, but his aim was impeccable.

Hearing distress, Rosalia looked over to see Ramza clenching one fist while his other hand was held against his bleeding eye socket. With a growl as she wiped away the blood that was trailing down from the base of her horn since the first Merc was killed, she charged away from the Merc she was fighting, when he got back to his feet after being knocked out for a few minutes, to get at Victor, at a speed he was unprepared for. She attacked his knee first, making him yell out as she kicked it from the front first, then behind it. Before he had the chance to fall though, she then attempted to knee him in the chin. But with sudden strength, he grabbed her ankle and threw her to flip backwards, having to spread her wings out to correct herself before she ended up hitting the ground shoulder-first.

With the momentary exposure to any attacks, the Merc she abandoned to fight Victor took aim and shot at her wings with his remaining hand. Out of ten bullets, two scored a graze on her shoulder and her left wing. That was when her attempt to hold back from killing snapped like thread. Her eyes turned entirely silver, no sliver of brown left as she turned on the Merc and grabbed him by the throat, squeezing with her entire strength; the windpipe crushed in as blood gushed from her claws, curling them through the skin and muscle before ripping the pipe out. He gurgled and tried to draw breath in, but to no avail. He died as she released what was left of his throat and turned back to Victor, who had wide eyes. All but one Merc was dead, and the one that was still alive had backed out of the fight entirely. He was on his own.

"This is nothin', I can still get out of this," Victor said to himself as he raised his gun, backing into his ship. "I'll get myself a better crew with yer corpse!"

"You talk too much," he heard behind him. Before he could whip around with his gun, Riddick's blade stuck itself between ribs, making the man fall with shock on his face.

"I-I... know yer face now," Victor hissed out as he tried to stop the bleeding. Riddick walked around Victor with little care nor worry. Rosalia started forward to finish the man off, but Riddick grabbed her by the shoulder and roughly stopped her.

"He's as good as dead," Riddick said as she turned to him with a protest. But he seemed to be wrong by Victor's account, who crawled into his ship and slammed his palm against the controls. The door closed before Riddick realized that the spot he aimed for was missed. Oh well. "Well, he will be if he doesn't see to a doctor real fast," he then said in a tone like he was commenting about the weather instead. The woman huffed as she glared at the rising ship, which quickly left the surrounding area. Letting her go, he turned to the remaining Merc around that was alive. "Now we don't need to kill you, do we?"

"Oh no, I'm done, I ain't on stupid," Razor quickly said as he raised his hands while he took a few steps back.

"He's fine," Kiley said nonchalantly as he walked off at a fast pace. "We won't have to worry about him again. Just Victor."

Rosalia sighed heavily at that though, but she was also trying to not turn on Riddick; after all, as a killer, he thought he had hit his target. At least the next time Victor showed his ugly face, she'll get the pleasure to kill him in a fairer fight... "Ramza, how is your eye..?" she said instead as she walked toward Ramza, who was still holding his hand against his eye.

"It's hurting like a bitch, what do you think?" he said grimly, looking at her with his good eye. "Damn, you do bleed," Ramza then said as that good eye widen a little. It just meant that she did bleed when others were hurt or killed when she's around.

"We all bleed, now let me look at your eye," Rosalia said as she rolled her eyes before kneeling next to Ramza to pull his hand from his head. She flinched visibly as she paled a little; the sight of a popped eye was a little more than she thought it would be. "No problem, I can fix that," she said with a faint tone that sounded like she was resisting the impulse to vomit, clearing her throat as she touched the tip of her horn against a corner of the eye. Closing her eyes to not watch the process of the eye reshaping back into its original form and fixing its blood vessels and optical cords, she remained doing that for about five minutes.

Ramza finally let out a relieved sigh as she pulled away and wobbly got to her feet. He had blood to clean off his face, but he could see out of both eyes again. "Thanks. I should probably repay the favor," he said as he indicated to the bullet-grazes on her shoulder and wing. But she shook her head as she smirked.

"Oh no, those can heal very well on their own. Don't waste your energy on scratches," she said before she turned to Riddick and Kiley. Neither of them seemed to have injuries, so she was in the clear. "That fight did not last long," she said with an even tone, watching Riddick bend down to examine her handy-work. Her eyes faded from silver to brown once again, so she wasn't feeling particularly murderous anymore. She felt a slight amount of remorse, but that was all that was there as she looked down at the Merc that she killed.

"The best that there can be," Riddick merely said as he slipped his blades back into their sheathes. He preferred quick and clean kills. Her kill was practically torturous to the poor fool, suffocating and drowning in his own blood. His lungs was probably full of blood rather than air. "You should take a personal note on that."

Rosalia narrowed her eyes, just a little. "I prefer my own method," she said cooly, smirking as though to show that she was stuck to that idea. But she wasn't. Before the bluff could become nothing more than that, she turned away to wipe her hands on the grass.

Riddick allowed it to stand. For now. Besides, having Ramza and Kiley watch was too strange. "Have it your way," he chuckled as he walked past Kiley to head back to the small town, which amazingly hadn't noticed the bloodshed that happened just minutes ago. After all, murder and death was expected in the human society, no longer such a 'forbidden' act like it had once-upon-a-time back on Earth. Where it was once thought their planet was the only hospitable one in the known universe and beyond. "About time to leave this planet for me."

"Can we come?" Kiley asked, and though Riddick didn't falter in his steps, he merely shrugged a shoulder. It was like he didn't care either way. With a grin, Kiley gave Rose and Ramza a thumbs-up, making Ramza smile and Rosalia look confused. "Well c'mon, slowpokes! Let's go before he changes his mind; he's the only one with the ship around here," Kiley said as she raced after Riddick. Ramza shrugged as he turned and followed, but Rosalia remained to look at the small signs of life. This planet still had a long way to go, but maybe she helped enough to have it breathing its own life to the plants. Waiting for the others to be far ahead, she finally turned and walked after them slowly, humming lightly to herself. The blood-soaked and burned grasses sprung back to life, along with new patches of it as she walked on. It'd be one way to forget how the fight went.

- - -

No news of the deaths were heard for the last day that the small group of people used to prepare for the trip into space once again. But there were strange rumors of a planet, Quartzite-Two, one of the top-producers of weapons and engines, falling victim to strange hostile ships. The factories were destroyed, and while there were no survivors, there weren't any bodies to be found, either.

Now that was strange news, as well as frightening for the residents of Aquila Major. But to the four prepping to leave the planet, it didn't bother them any where near as much. Just a little concerning; they could very-well run into those ships.

"We won't," Kiley said in a cheerful tone as they entered the building they'll be spending their last night in; the quarters onboard the ship would be crowed as it was, so they may as well enjoy one night without the crampness before heading off-world.

"Any idea what those ships belong to?" Riddick asked in a casual tone, but the inquiring was to rest his uneasiness of the possibility that it was Necromongers at work again.

"Well, no, not really. But it's no Necromongers, not by those methods," Kiley replied with a shrug. Even Riddick had to look at her with slight surprise.

"An Elemental, not knowing?" A tug at the corner of his lips was suppressed.

"'Ey, I resemble that remark!" She placed her hands on her hips and attempted to glare. But her eyes couldn't quite make it work; Elementals were capable of many things, but they lost a few human traits as they gained something more over the many, many generations.

"Somehow, you failed in your retort..." Rosalia said with no surprise, walking away before Kiley could throw her own remark at the girl. All Kiley could do was stick her tongue out at the retreating figure.

"Ever since the fight, she'd been more irritable," Kiley huffed slightly. "I'm glad I'm not sharing the same quarters with her," she then laughed. After all, Rosalia may just pass that mood of hers onto the one Elemental that could received others' mood just as well as she could share her mood; Water Elementals could actually 'press' their calm moods onto others. Rose, unfortunately, happened to be an exception. "I have pity on you, Riddick."

Riddick was sharing the same area with Rosalia, considering that he was more comfortable around her than Kiley and Ramza; Kiley was entirely too unpredictable, along with her ability to know what he was thinking before he knew it. With Ramza, Riddick still didn't trust him, nor did he trust him to be in the same area with Rose alone.

One could only curse at the limited spaces the manager could provide.

"I think I prefer her mood over yours any day."

"Everyone conspires against the lonely Elemental!" Kiley exaggeratedly threw her hands into the air, but the remark didn't even bother her like it could for someone else. "Good thing Ramza is coming along for the ride; he's more fun than the two of you put together!" Riddick could have rolled his eyes if he was really listened to the complaints that didn't mean anything to the Elemental in the first place.

"Then have fun with him." He left her to her own devices. Ramza watched him walk by with a unknown expression on his face.

"Seems like you need to have time to yourself," he commented. Riddick didn't answer him, but he did feel like he needed to get away from the Elemental, who had achieved the 'most annoyance' title that was originally given to Aereon. Who would have thought there was someone more annoying than the air Elemental. "Of course, though, it's not like I know what I'm talkin' about." Quite the correct answer for Ramza to say. "You'll have it better than Rose." Now that was different.

"What do you mean by that?"

"She's an Yamako - she feels far more than physical pain." He could see that Riddick doesn't quite understand the reason. "Alright, a more thorough explanation is needed. The Yamako race are far-more intune with nature, but that doesn't stop there. Most of us can feel other beings' emotions and pain, whether it's physical, emotional, or psychological. She isn't an exception to the 'rule.' In fact, I think she felt the deaths and wounds of those Mercs worse than I had." He tapped at where his horn would be. "Did you notice the blood on her face before she washed up? It wasn't from getting nicked by a bullet."

Riddick had noticed, but he hadn't even gave it a second thought about it. Bullets were flying everywhere; it would have been impossible to not get nicked by any of them. "So you're saying that every time someone near her gets hurt..."

"She gets hurt, exactly. Well, really, we both do, but she's got it worse." Ramza shrugged a little as Riddick took those facts in. "The headaches has to be a killer every time she steps foot on a planet."

'_Then it's no wonder she's not a people-person.'_ "I'll keep that in mind." He started his way down the hall again.

"You're Riddick, aren't you..?" Ramza didn't get an answer back, but it was more like a silent 'duh' than Riddick trying to deny it. "You're not what I expected... But don't bring any harm on Kiley or Rosalia. Again, though, not like I know anything," he then laughed lightly as Riddick walked out of sight. Like he would bother to kill the women. Ramza could be another story, but he wasn't in the way. He wouldn't bother wasting his time killing possible allies, after all.

'_No. You don't know anything, not of me.'_

The last room to the right was where he and Rosalia would be staying for the final night on Aquila Major. Ramza and Kiley would be in the other hallway, second room from the beginning of the walkway. They may be far from one another for any situation, but at least they'll know where to find each other. It was the best they could hope for.

"Knock knock," Riddick called out as he pushed the door open. Rosalia rolled her eyes while she sat on a chair; it was like he was expecting her to be nude and dancing like an idiot. "You're quite a gal, you know. Having all sorts of people willing to stick their necks out for you." Then came a sigh from Rose.

"And frankly, I do not understand why you or anyone would bother."

"So, frankly, it wasn't our place to pick your fight. Is that right?" Riddick chuckled as he closed the door behind him. "You seemed pretty lost without some backup."

"Are you implying that I could not handle the situation on my own..?" she replied icily. Riddick smirked as he walked past her to the small bar each room was supplied.

"I'm just saying that having others help wouldn't hurt." He found his target and pulled the bottle out of the racks. "You're the one twisting my words to take insult." Hearing a sigh, he knew that it would instantly take the fight out of the current situation. Kiley was right; she was easily irritable after the fight. "You should try to relax, Rosalia, the fight's over."

"Do you not see me reclining on this chair?" she threw at him with a light smirk. At least her mood seemed to be improving. She then raised an eyebrow at him as he uncapped the bottle of brandy to take a mouthful of it. "Why should I not be surprised?" Rosalia said with a laugh.

"Surprised about what?"

"I would not have taken you for a man that drinks," she answered with a shrug.

"Mm." Not really caring, Riddick passed by her again to claim a bed for himself. "It won't disturb you, will it?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow. He didn't care either way, but she seemed to concern herself about liquor.

"Of course not," she said as she raised both hands as though he was trying to strike her down with that question. It was just self-reflex on her part; she doubted that Riddick would actually get offensive over questions as stupid as that. She started to chew the piece of gum she had more vigorously as she shrugged again and then turned to look out the window just to avoid answering actual awkward questions she could bring upon herself.

Riddick actually continued to study her for a minute, wondering idly what she was thinking before mentally shrugging. "So what are your thoughts on Ramza?" he asked, taking another drink of the bottle. She turned to look at him with curiosity.

"Why? What for?"

"Well, tell me if you think he's trustworthy, and of what other thoughts you have from your impressions," he merely answered as he waved a hand at her, trying to coax her into talking. He wasn't sure why he would want to hear opinions, but it was better than nothing. "After all, he could be just after you, whatever his reasons."

"Doubtful," she slowly said as she popped another piece of gum and started chewing more. The strong smell of spearmint was caught by Riddick over his booze. "I merely take him for a strong companion with strong instincts," she said as she shrugged. She didn't seem to have much connection with him other than that they came from the same planet. That added as a bonus to Riddick, since he personally didn't like the other man. At least she didn't have personal feelings to him; if Riddick had to kill him for a personal reason, she wouldn't bitch _as_ much.

"That's it, eh?"

"Were you expecting me to say something else?" she sighed. "I do not know him any more than you do. It is not like I would know by just meeting him."

"Alright." No need to make her upset, so Riddick changed his game. "You certainly chew a lot of gum, for someone who doesn't have addictions."

Rosalia huffed as she turned back to look at him again. "I can deal with my stress, you can deal with yours with booze," she retorted.

"You chew gum to deal with your stress? Interesting. Though what could you be stressed about?" Victor wasn't much of an issue at the moment, so it couldn't be him. "Can it be that you're feeling... guilty?" She growled, and he got his answer; she grudgingly was. "You shouldn't be, not with Mercs like them. In fact, you should be feeling quite relieved."

"You have no idea what nearly snapped out of me," she said gravely as her eyes silvered a little. "It could have been worse than the fight had gone."

So it wasn't the death of the Merc that got her riled up. It seemed that she held back for another reason. A different reason.

"Well then. I guess stopping you while you're in that state helps." He grinned as she looked confused. "Then I better have you stick around so that you don't snap. Seems that I'll be the only one to do the job."

"Psh." She smirked lightly, able to have a little bit of her humor restored. "Now that is a first."

"You don't seem to object."

"We will just see how this could last. After all, you can quit once you see how difficult the 'job' can be." She sounded so sure of it, too.

"Mm. We'll see." He could prove her wrong, and he intended to do so. He also intended to see just how more dangerous she could be when the gloves are down and she 'snapped.' It should be quite something to behold. Something as dangerous as he was.

The silence filled the room for quite awhile, Riddick slowly consuming the bottle of brandy and Rosalia just chewing her gum, lost in her own thoughts. She wasn't much to elaborate on how much worse the fight could have gone, but Riddick figured he would find out soon enough. After all, there were going to be many more fights to come.

"Have you asked him about your world yet?" Him, meaning Ramza. Why bother using his name, since there were no other males in the team? Rosalia shook her head slightly, half-closing her eyes. "Afraid to hear the answer."

"Yes." She half-shrugged, though. "Though it will eventually arise."

"It seems you already know the answer, though," he said.

"Maybe... but I better get the whole truth from Ramza's mouth." She closed her eyes. "Why just us...?" she murmured quietly, and Riddick didn't answer her. It was meant as a question for her to ask Ramza, when she got around to it.

"I hope Ramza has his answers ready," he said with a light smirk.

And down to the other half of the building, Ramza sneezed a few times.

"Wow, bless ya," Kiley said as she held back a giggle.

"That was weird..." he said as he scratched the tip of his nose. "There isn't dust in here, so why did I sneeze?"

"I dunno." Kiley shrugged, but her giggling ruined the neutral composure she had. Ramza sighed lightly, knowing that he was getting laughed at. "Maybe someone's talkin' about you?"

"That's a human wives' tale," he retorted as he gave her a weird look. "Anyway, on to what I was saying." The sneezing interrupted his collected thoughts, so he took a minute for himself. "So how come Rosalia is so serious most of the time?" he continued.

"Well, up til the age of thirteen, she was more energetic and playful, but that was before her foster parents' murder," Kiley said as she reclined on one of the beds. She was certainly at ease, even when she was telling a sad story. "Like most other people, the murder hit her hard. The trouble was that it was done by someone that seemed to have known her. She doesn't remember what he look like, but she says she'll remember his laugh." She shrugged. "I dunno what he looks like, either; I wasn't around to witness the crime. I met her on my planet five years ago, which made her about fifteen." Kiley then giggled. "Boy, what an encounter that was! She looked like what she is now; your species reach a maturity level earlier than humans, even Elementals! But anyway, she just about scared every young Elemental off until I met up with her."

"I'm afraid to hear how you tamed her," Ramza said half-heartedly, his thoughts mostly on who could have murdered Rosalia's foster family. It seemed to be familiar to him.

"A little bit of water dropped out of nowhere certainly surprised her," Kiley answered with a grin. "She glared at me, knowing that I had done it. After all, I was the only Water Elemental around at the time. Though I dried her before she could think about attacking me, so I made her curious instead of murderous. Of course, at the time, the Necromongers were on the move, so while I was running errands, I kept Rose in the loop; I quickly got attached to her, even though she tried a few times to glare me to death. She's just a lot of fun, and best of all, she wasn't another Elemental." She grinned again. "Earth Elementals are arrogant and prideful, so maybe it was a surprise to meet someone that can control nature pretty well without having to be an Elemental. She was just quiet and cautious; maybe that's why I was drawn to her." Kiley shrugged mostly to herself.

"So how come she came to your planet?"

"She was just traveling planet to planet, on the search for clues of your guys' world." She smiled lightly. "Which brings me to a question; when do you plan to tell her about why you two and maybe a few others were sent off-world?"

Ramza sighed. "I don't know. It's going to be difficult to tell someone that had been looking for her home world that there won't be one for us."

"Come again? So it is dead?" Kiley questioned further, her blue turquoise eyes showing a little bit of distress.

"Well... it's not dead, but there isn't going to be a welcoming committee, either." He shook his head. "I'm afraid to even see the devastation that rendered our beautiful home, so I have no idea how worse-off it actually is."

"You know where your home world is at, coordinate-wise?"

"Yeah, I was old enough to remember what was going on, and of the instructions the escape pod had on the screen on the lid. It showed where I was being sent off, the coordinates of my home world to the coordinates of the closest inhabitable planet. That was two months of journeying, though I was in cryosleep." He shrugged a little. "I dunno about Rosalia, since she was younger. We can't purify air with our horns until the age of three, when we reach about the maturity level of a eight year old. So I don't know how long she was in her pod, nor where she was sent. In all reality, she would have died in her sleep if it was longer than a month worth of journeying."

"That'd be when she was picked up by a human couple that were traveling archeologists, then." Kiley smiled lightly. "She probably was heading for a nearby planet, but something had sent her off-course, and she was picked up by friendly people." She then shrugged again. "That'd be my guess."

"Mine, as well." Ramza sighed. "I guess that'll be one problem I'll have to overcome whenever she asks me about our world."

"That'd be what big brothers are for, eh?"

"...I guess."

**WELL, I finally finished. XD; I was stuck after the fight was over, so I had to go through many thoughts of how the conversations would go. Let me know how you like the chapter, and I hope to see you at Chapter 7!**


	7. Chapter 7

Before we could launch off-world, new trouble somehow rises and I find myself without any companion. Or at least of the friendly contact. How come shit like this always happens to me..? Aw well, I'll get away. The only trouble is that it'll be hard to find my company again, especially when I somehow get out of this prison hell-hole.

Then this boy I found here... he can't be any older than twelve. What kind of shit sends a twelve-year-old to a double-max prison like Ursa Luna? Damn, and I can't help myself but keep the youngling out of danger, away from the psycho-fucked people that are meant to be here.

Well, I may be stuck. But maybe the gods out there saw that it was for a purpose... Hell, who knows - I certainly don't.

I'm just along for the ride.

**Disclaimer  
**I don't own anything of Riddick, obviously, and I will gain nothing of this story other than (hopefully) reviews from you awesome readers. XD K'thnx'bye!

The sun risen over the horizon, and the four crew people checked out of the cheap motel to head off-world. Rosalia wondered how Ramza survived Kiley's company, though maybe the two had more in-common than they may have guessed. Whatever the reason, she probably could guess that Ramza wondered how she could stand Riddick's company as well. At least he was quiet after awhile - Ramza probably would have chattered Rosalia's head off all night.

"Get everything you need, 'cause we're not making pit-stops," Riddick advised the three of them as they walked through the small but growing crowd.

"That will be fine with me," Rosalia murmured as Ramza shrugged. She looked like she hadn't had sleep, and that was exactly what happened. To her, she was trying to get back into the habit of sleeping little and staying alert more-often. Riddick caught himself a few hours of very light sleep, so he probably hadn't noticed.

"I got something to do before we go," Kiley injected into the conversation, smiling brightly.

"Then go." Kiley bowed a little before heading off in a direction that none of them knew where it led. "We'll meet up within two hours. That should be plenty of time for all of you to do your business." Riddick looked back to Rosalia, then Ramza. "If any of you are late, I'm leaving you." It sounded legitimate, like a promise. Rosalia lightly smirked as she walked past both men.

"Gee, then I better not run into Victor," she said in a joking matter, walking for a shop. While she had two hours to prepare, she might as well get her own supplies.

Ramza shrugged and merely continued to the ship. "I have nothing to get, I'm good," he said over his shoulder. Riddick wasn't thrilled, but he didn't show it as he boarded the ship when he got to it. Ramza happily sat down on the ramp, not very keen to go onboard with only himself and the famous killer.

Was probably the best move he could make.

Meanwhile for Rosalia, she entered the first promising shop she could find. Since the settlement knew of her, she hadn't bothered to place the collar back on her neck. The shop owner recognized her from the streets, helping people along the way. With a smile as he calculated how much money she was willing to spend, he greeted her with enthusiasm. After telling the owner what she wanted, he disappeared to the back along with his assistant, leaving her to look around. The weapons available were poorly up to standards, and besides, she needed to break in her new blade before she should even consider to get a new weapon.

"Alright then, here's a few boxes of ration bars - veggie kind, as you requested -, and two boxes of that gum stuff you wanted, lady. By estimation of cost, that'll cost ya 'bout two hundred and twelve dollars."

'_Hmph, greedy weasel...'_ "Done deal," Rosalia replied with a fake half-smile. She pulled out the requested amount of money and traded it for the supplies. She might as well have more gum, since she was starting to dwindle on what she had.

As she started out for the door after supplying the stuff into her bag, someone entering the shop bumped into her, making her ram into one of the display cases. On that incident, a valuable crystal was knocked to the floor and it shattered on impact.

"'Ey, you need to watch it," the other person growled. But it was the shop owner that was the loudest.

"That's me best drive-crystal for a battle cruiser!" he yelled, looking with a horrified look at the shattered gem before glaring accusingly at Rosalia.

"Do not blame me for placing the object where it would get knocked off," Rosalia growled as she looked at both of the men. Then she noticed something; they both had a glint to their eyes. This couldn't go well.

"You'll have ta pay for it, my dear," the other man said with a smirk, lifting a side of his vest and showing a small badge attached to the inside of that vest. It was one of those that stated that the man had authority. "I'll guess that the crystal was about, oh, say, over three thousand?"

"Three thousand, over a crappy-ass crystal that is so fragile??"

A few other men and women filed into the shop, watching the exchange with amusement. It just then dawned on her that this was a scam that must have worked for many other victims that entered this shop. Place a fragile crystal on a display, claim it was an important piece for a battle cruiser meant for deep space, and wrestle out a good-amount of money for it. Well, not only did she not have the money, she wasn't going to stand for it.

"You break it, you bought it." He grinned as he gestured to the man behind the counter. "After all, he has to make an honest living."

"Honest living, my tail." She watched as the other men and women pulled out daggers, others with high-powered pistols. These had to be the biggest scum of the settlement.

"C'mon darling, it's only money."

"I will not stand for this scheme you must have cooked up for many half-brained victims." With that, she slid her newest blade into hand. Might as well give it a test drive.

"Then maybe you should sit down for it." The man in front of her lunged at her, making her react by spinning in past his outstretched arm and slamming her elbow into the back of his head. But as he fell, she felt something slam into her own neck, but not of a large mass. Staggering past the man, she reached up and pulled out what got her. It was a needle with a heavy dosage of narcotic.

The man was just a distraction.

"Fuck..." she muttered as she resisted the quick effect of the drug, but it was effecting her nervous system. She went down with a heavy thud.

"I knew that it was enough," she heard the shooter say, the haze of the drug beginning to affect her hearing and sight.

"The amount you just used could have killed her," another growled.

"Nah, I know what I'm doin'. Ursa Luna told me about how the local amount wouldn't have fazed her. She could take five before she could feel it starting to work."

"Can't take our chances against someone like her, can we?"

The rest of the talk slowly faded to bare whispers before the darkness took Rosalia entirely. She didn't even feel someone dragging her up and over a shoulder as she was taken to a nearby Merc ship. She was heading right back to her old prison, and she couldn't remember for the rest of the trip how that went.

- - -

"She's taking too long," Ramza muttered as he kept glancing up in the direction he knew Rosalia would come. It was nearly an hour since she went to shop for last-minute items.

Riddick agreed silently as he stepped off his ship. He better go see what happened; he was positive that she was in a spot of trouble.

"Wait up." Ramza tagged along, since he may as well be of some help.

Knowing Rosalia's taste, Riddick tracked down the store that she would have visited first. The sleazy owner behind the counter was counting his money, looking very pleased with himself. Looking around with precise examination, he spotted the bin first. It was filled with broken glass, the shit that couldn't even handle getting knocked a little by a bump. All one had to do was flick it with your fingers, and it'd break on contact.

"Welcome, welcome!" the owner said as he pocketed his cash, grinning ear-to-ear. The smile fell slightly as Riddick turned his head to look at the man through his goggles. "Well, er, what can I do for you two gentlemen?"

"Did a girl come in here, looking to buy?" Riddick asked bluntly as he continued to walk slow, still examining the shop.

"So many customers came in, so I couldn't tell you which girl you're talking about," the man behind the counter said with another grin, though it was filled with suspicion. "Do you have any specific characteristics about her?"

"Couldn't miss her - she was the only one with wings." It scored a falter in his answer.

"Hadn't seen someone like that, nope." He waved one arm toward his displays. "Anyway, gentlemen, I'm sure you'll find something to your liking."

"Not interested in what you call weapons."

"You're lying right through your teeth," Ramza said with a hard look, still standing over at the doorway.

"Why, sir, I speak nothing but me heart! If I had seen someone like what you described, why I'd bet her horn that I'd tell you in a heartbeat!"

Ramza was right in front of the counter, his hands placed on top and pressing down on the glass. He gave a horrible grin. "We didn't say anything about her having a horn."

The shop owner was starting to have doubts about being about to lie his way out of this, but he tried anyway. "N-now now, like I said, I hadn't seen someone like that _in_ my shop, but who said I didn't see her in the streets??"

Something caught Riddick's attention, glittering just under the display near the doorway. Bending down, he reached out and grabbed the black blade. It hadn't been used, not yet by Rosalia.

Ramza noticed a hard look settling on Riddick's face, and he took a few steps away from the man. In just a few blinks, Riddick was behind the counter and pressing the same blade against the man's throat.

"You better tell me right now where she's been taken," Riddick said in a dangerous tone.

"I-I don't-"

"Don't tell me you don't know!" Riddick ripped his goggles off, making the man gasp in instant realization who he just pissed off. "This blade's hers. So before you answer, I suggest you think **real** hard. Your answer may be your one-way ticket to dying right here."

The man just about pissed himself as he gulped, shifting his eyes to look between Riddick and Ramza, who had a murderous look to his face as well.

"The men took her off-world after drugging her stupid," he squeaked, sweat starting to bead on his forehead. "A few guards from Ursa Luna, the rest Mercs paid by the same people. Personal job, since she killed the head-honcho's son along with the other guards she took out. That's it, that's all I know!"

Shoving the man away from him, Riddick rotated the blade to hold it backwards, sheathing it in his belt. He didn't bother saying another word as he turned and headed out the door.

"You won't be able to catch them! They have the fastest ship-model there is!" the owner yelled out to the retreating figures. The closest display was knocked down by Ramza, nearly crushing the man under it.

"Get the Elemental; we're leaving right now." There was no room for argument, even though Riddick said it in a casual tone.

"You got it," Ramza answered.

- - -

"Wakey wakey," a voice said as Rosalia tried to move away, her headache the size of a few worlds put-together. Though the restraints on her prevent from moving nothing more than her head. This was when her mind realized that she needed to pull herself out of the darkness. Opening her eyes, they silvered as she stared at the small box of steel she was in. "Nice, huh? This is the new, recommended way to transport convicts."

Not only was she in the small box, she was on her knees and held upright by her elbows. The rest of her arm was hanging down the sides of the bar. The locks on her knees and elbows were cuffs, not chains, so she didn't have much hope of getting out of that. She could move her head and the rest of her arms, but that was it. She also figured out that they bounded her wings together, though separately from the rest of the locks.

"I can tell you with confidence that this is not very comfortable..." she finally replied with a light tone, suppressing the urge to growl. She could see the man's eyes through the only slot of the box.

"Yeah, well, only another few minutes of this, then you'll be released into the courtyard of our lovely prison. Dun worry, the boss is away, so you'll get to enjoy your wings before he starts ripping out feathers." Patting the side of the box, he stood up and walked off.

'_It __**had**__ to happen while I was getting supplies. Of course. When I get out of this mess, I am going to hold a gun to that man's face.'_ She mentally sighed as she felt the descendant of the ship, landing minutes later. Footsteps echoed into the room, and she felt herself getting lifted onto some pulley, then wheeled off the ship.

"So who's gonna be the victim to release her?" one of the men muttered as they left the ship and stopped onto an open elevator.

"Fuck that, I ain't gonna get skewered by the likes of her," another said in a louder tone. He was almost drowned out by the noise of the machine, lowering them down.

"Oh, I would not say skewered. I would bet on getting an arm ripped off and then beaten by it, though," Rosalia said with a chuckle. Someone kicked the box, but she kept laughing.

"Somethin' tells me she would," the first man said in an undertone.

Rosalia couldn't hear the rest of the conversation due to the noise of the contraption they were on, but she figured that they reached an answer. They wheeled her out, then yelled at someone nearby.

"You'll do! C'mon here and release the convict," the second speaker said with a gleeful tone.

'_A convict releasing another convict. So typical,'_ she thought to herself as the person they yelled to stuttered before the sound of rattling keys were heard. The elevator was making noise again, meaning that the men had retreated and was heading up as the convict shakily started to undo the top of the box. Whoever they got doing the job was obviously nervous.

Pushing the lid up and over, the boy that was handed the job stared at Rosalia with wide, childish eyes. Very childish eyes, as a matter of fact...

'_The fuck??'_ Rosalia stared at the young boy for a brief few seconds before adverting her eyes elsewhere. The boy was nervous as it was, she didn't need to scare the hell out of him before he could finish the job.

Without a word, he undid the locks with shaking hands. As soon as he released the last one on her elbows, Rosalia was out of the box. He nearly fell backwards from shock, though Rosalia stopped his falling with a hand, steadying him before moving away a little to look around. It was all she remembered, though the convicts seemed to have changed on her. Especially the convicts. She glanced at the boy; dirty face, ragged clothing, long untidy black hair, and old blood. What crime could he had possibly committed to be thrown in a double-max prison??

"Thank you," she finally said, though her words seemed to have frightened him. He jumped a little before starting to back away. But he didn't run away.

Even though her wings were bounded, she was thanking whatever gods out there that they hadn't bothered taking her bag off, or looking through it. Luckily for her, the straps could snap apart, so she didn't have to worry about how to get it off her back. Her weapons were also where they're supposed to be. Well, except for her black blade - it must have fell out of her hand as she was knocked out by that dart.

"U-um..." The boy seemed to have gained courage, as he had slowly approached her until he was right next to her, looking up. "Y-y-you're w-welcome," he said quietly.

Rosalia tried to smile softly, but all she managed was a grim look. At least the boy didn't seem to be expecting miracles at the moment. "Why are you here?" she asked, confusion showing on her face.

He flinched slightly as he looked down. "I-I didn't s-s-start that f-fire! B-but I w-was t-the only one a-around w-when the g-g-g-government b-building w-was l-lite..."

'_The bastards blamed a kid for arson? They did not even bother to check out the evidence, I will bet...'_ "Of course you did not do it," Rosalia said gently as she kneeled down after a quick glance around to see if anyone was about to jump her. Convicts had a code, but the inmates - the most absolute scum that gave convicts a bad rep - were the ones that you had to worry about. They did the guards' work, not to mention that they usually cause riots and even go as far as attempt to rape and/or murder unsuspecting victims. "I am not here to disprove your story, for I believe you. You do not have to worry about me."

"S-s-so w-what are y-you here f-for?" he asked, his hands nervously moving until he took one hand into the other, stopping their movements. He was afraid of the answer.

"I have escaped from here before, and they have decided to pursue me in petty revenge," she replied, not getting into the gory details. She killed guards along the way, after all. "A few people had been wrongfully sent here, like yourself. It was for a wrong reason for me." Then she managed a real small smile. "That is not important right now." She turned her head to the people that were beginning to gather along the outlines of the prison yard. "Let us find a less-open place, if you do not mind."

"S-s-sure."

Retreating from the prison yard, the boy led her through the twisty tunnels that held many cells. With the boss away, the prison guards usually don't bother to lock the prisoners away into their assigned cells. With the overwhelming number of convicts in this prison, one would think they'd be overrun by them. But the creatures they had, they controlled the masses, just like for most prison systems. And unfortunately, the narrow tunnels were the perfect places for the creatures to stalk through, to kill anyone that were caught in the tunnels and not in the safety of their cells.

Coming to a cell where it seemed less-likely for any being, creature or man, to travel through, the boy led her into it with a wave of a hand. She followed him in, and he closed the cell door, though it didn't lock. The good part about the door was that it swung out instead of in; less likely for the creatures she remembered to open the door.

Looking around the cell, Rosalia examined her current surroundings as the boy sat on a ledge. He kept watching her with wide eyes, or more at the wings, her horn as well as the tail. She could see the wonder on his face.

"So what is your name?" she asked, changing his thought process.

"A-Astor (note: Ah-star)..." he mumbled as he pulled his knees up to wrap his arms around them. It seemed like he wasn't used to people being nice.

"I am Rosalia. Thank you again for unlocking my bindings," she said with another small smile. It fell as her eyes narrowed in her own silent distress. She was not going to be happy whenever the 'boss' returned from wherever he had gone. Not to mention how she was getting out; she doubted that she'll be rescued by her companions. They probably had gone on, Kiley whining about where she went, Ramza grumbling about her not being there... Riddick probably was happy to be rid of one companion, but she wasn't sure of that. Maybe he was wishing that it was Ramza that had disappeared instead of her.

"N-no problem," Astor said, not seeing how her eyes silvered in a momentary distress. "I-I guess if I h-hadn't, t-they w-w-would have h-hit me." No wonder he would rather deal with the convict in the box than the guards. "I-is s-something the m-matter?" he suddenly asked as he looked up to see her eyes narrowed, her composed face etched with worry.

"I am fine," she answered as she forced herself to think of the present, plan for the future escape. "For all it was worth, I am glad someone like you had opened the box instead of those guards." Though if she was someone else with no morals, it might have been his last box. And she knew a part of her was just like that. She was glad that she had the control.

Hours dragged by after Astor had fallen asleep, having talked himself tired. Must have been forever since he had a companion to talk to, about anything. He tried to undo the clasped bindings on her wings, though because they were of a design meant for a signal rather than a key, he couldn't do anything other than move them slightly. At least they were more 'comfortable' than where they originally were at. She made sure to praise him on that accomplishment, brightening his mood up when he looked like he was about to cry.

'_This certainly is not a place for someone like Astor,'_ she thought to herself as she watched out the door, Astor somehow snuggled against her wings at one side. He had no instinct for survival, at least none yet. He doesn't know how to pick a lock, nor how to hold a knife in a right way. She mentally sighed; she wouldn't be able to walk away from someone as helpless as Astor, not without all of her instincts screaming at her. At least he knew how to hide well, since he admitted that it was the best way to survive in this place. She was the first person that he was willing to be around without having to fear for his throat.

Well, for all that it was worth, having an angelic look because of her wings seemed to be what led people to think that she was safe to be with. It also led people to believe her harmless; her biggest advantage.

Crossing her arms, she continued to keep watch as she thoughts of the possibilities of escaping, with Astor. She probably had to wait until another ship came in, one where Mercs were bringing their captives and collecting their reward. Though she had no idea of when that would happen until the elevator gave the indication of new arrivals.

She could only wait and see.

- - -

"So let me get this straight," Kiley started as they orbited around the moon of Ursa Luna, "we're to go in as Mercs, with Riddick as our prisoner?" They had arrived a week later after Rosalia, but the time between was entirely on how to get their companion back. They kept bouncing ideas around.

"I dun know if we should let someone as you playing as a merc, but the signature locators would give away that there are three people onboard. So you have to pretend to be cool." Riddick slid the tip of one of his blades under a fingernail, his face fairly grim. He'd rather have Kiley stay onboard than possibly ruining their only chance of getting in without getting caught themselves. Besides, Elementals were hard to disguise. Not to mention that they are known to be neutral; an Elemental as a bounty hunter was most unlikely. Though maybe...

"Just imagine Victor, and you should do fine," Ramza inputted to Kiley, and she instantly fell into role; her face carefully composed of hidden anger, her bright eyes glittering with anticipation. "That works well." Ramza had a hard time not flinching from that cold look.

"Indeed." Even Riddick had to be impressed at the composure. But he certainly doesn't feel threatened like Ramza was. "Good thing we have the necessary equipment to make it look like you two bounded me up."

"Great, I guess," Kiley said. "We'll also need to look like we went through hell; someone as good as Riddick isn't very easy to capture."

"We'll say we lost a few companions in the struggle, but the scars and scratches from the fight with Victor will be good enough," Ramza said thoughtfully.

It seemed everything was put together, and with the last preparations, Ramza took the seat of piloting the ship. They didn't have a lot of time left before that boss of Ursa Luna returned to settle a personal matter with Rosalia. It was time to act.

**Ta-da! I finished two chapters before getting online, lol. XD I had fun with this one! Give me good reviews for both new chapters, and I'll see ya at the next one! Ciao until then!**


	8. Chapter 8

So it seems that I wasn't to be forgotten like I thought I would be... Though all hell seems to keep breaking loose since I've gotten in here. And things weren't bad enough with the creatures that can only wonder through the prison tunnels in total darkness without the inner battle... The only time in this prison hell-hole that I lost control of _her_...

I'm glad that Riddick seemed to be able to keep his word, about putting me back in control. But now Astor's scared of me... And Ramza seems freaked, like he knows something more about what happened than even me.

I'll be damned to know what that's about...

**Disclaimer**

I dun own Riddick, nor anything about or of it. This story was rated M for extreme violence and adult scenes... blah blah blah. Anyway... How come I got no reviews for my previous two chapters, huh?? XD; I want reviews, please!

"So you caught the famous Riddick, eh?"

"Yes'sir, though we lost a few men in the struggle." Ramza watched as the man behind the desk grin. So far, the plan was working.

"We've been on a lookout for that particular one... after all, he escaped from here before he could finish out his sentence." He stood up from the comfortable chair and walked around the desk, a folder in hand. "And with those Necromongers gone, we don't exactly have anything to worry about," he muttered to himself as he flipped the folder open to examine some paperwork. "Tell ya two what," he then said with a clear tone, looking up at Ramza and Kiley, "we'll cut ya in for a profit of 70k."

"Just seventy?" Kiley said as she crossed her arms, looking much more threatening with that look she kept on her face since she left the ship. "I dun know..." She glanced meaningfully at Ramza with an raised eyebrow.

"How 'bout this?" the man said, gazing at Kiley for a second before looking to Ramza. "You can stick around, think it over, and meanwhile, I could contact my boss and see what he thinks. Should take me less than an hour. If he's willing to raise the price, I'm more-than-willing to discuss this further with you two."

"Hm." Ramza gazed at Kiley, who seemed to relax a little at the prospect. She gave half a shrug, and Ramza nodded in response. He gave the man a small but cold grin as he nodded again. "We'll do just that."

"Good, good." The man turned to the window, watching the process of Riddick being transported from the merc's ship to the elevator, where he'll travel alone; no one was willing to stick around him, merely tossing the keys into the furthest corner of the elevator before shutting the gates and pressing the button to lower him to the courtyard. "I'm still amazed that you only lost a few men to him; I've heard quite a bit of this convict." He turned back with a boastful grin. "You _must_ tell me how you've done it."

"Happy to do so," Kiley said in return, giving a small but not-so-warm smile. They had it rehearsed before they docked. Should be a piece of cake.

Riddick looked around the courtyard as he rubbed his free-wrists after tossing the chains to the side. It changed a bit with its policies, Ursa Luna. Must be a danger to actually enforce a few things. Smirking slightly as he thought of maybe it was him that changed that part, he walked forward in his search. Shouldn't be too difficult to find the only girl with wings in this joint. He knew enough of her of where to start - the cells in the most deserted part of the tunnels would be a good place to begin.

Many glanced at him as he passed inmates and fellow convicts. A few recognized him for who he was, others merely watched him curiously before turning back to their activity. That was fine with Riddick; he didn't need others to crowd after him. He already had three people for that, and one of them was the target of this little trip.

A wisp of something white caught his attention, just going around a corner with a familiar fast pace. _'That was easier than I anticipated,'_ Riddick thought to himself as he sped up, following the tunnel after rounding the corner. And there she was, walking at a fast pace that meant that she wasn't going to stop for anything until she reached her destination. Wondering idly what was important enough to have her going like that, Riddick followed at his own pace. Carefully noting that her wings were bound by something metallic, he lightly pondered on how to remove that before she disappeared into a cell. So he was correct. Though what brought an eyebrow up was when an excited voice greeted the woman. She wasn't alone.

"R-R-Rosalia, th-thank y-y-you!" said the young boy's voice.

"Truly, Astor, it would never be a problem to get a portion of food..." answered Rosalia.

The boy, Astor, grinned until he caught sight of Riddick, who casually leaned against the wall opposite of the cell with his arms crossed. With a terrified gasp, he immediately hid in a corner of the cell. Rosalia turned her head to see who it was, and it was her turn to gasp lightly, but in surprise than in fear. Though then she gave a small but grim smile.

"Why Riddick... I did not think you had cared enough," she said as she turned completely to face him. But it was with a relaxed composure, making Astor glance from where he hid himself. "I thought your exact words were that if we were late, you would leave us."

"You fail to realize that I meant I'd leave you on that particular planet. You're the one that decided to be caught by a bunch of Mercs." He watched as she gave a burst of a silent huff, but she remained to be in good spirits. "So who's the kid?" At the mention of 'kid,' Astor ducked back down behind the large rock, the top of his black hair the only thing to be seen.

"This is Astor, someone who had helped me when I had first arrived," Rosalia answered as she turned to look to Astor. "It is okay Astor, he is a friend of mine. He is the one that helped me from when I told you about my time in space."

There was no movement at first, but Astor gradually got the courage to stand up and walk slowly over to Rosalia's side, grabbing and clutching tightly to a wing. Riddick estimated that he was maybe about eleven, or twelve. Hardly old enough to commit any real crime, really...

"So what are you doing here?" Rosalia asked Riddick as she turned her attention back to the man. She watched as he smirked and pushed away from the wall.

"Getting you out of here, of course."

Rosalia raised an eyebrow. After all, they were in the middle of a double-max prison. But again, Riddick had told her time and again in an off-handed kind of way of how he escaped from prisons, even from this particular prison they were in. "Okay, I bite... how?" she said after a minute. Astor glanced up at her before back to the man, his eyes inquiring more than fearful now. If Rosalia wasn't afraid of the man, he felt that he shouldn't be, either.

"Arranged ride. We just have to wait for the right time." Slowly walking into the cell, he examined the area with a quick glance before returning his goggled-eyes to Rosalia's face. "Turn around."

Gazing at him with a look that looked like she debated about it, she then sighed as she pried Astor from her wings (with little difficulty) and turned to show him what bound her wings together. She felt as he examined the cuff-like mechanism with his purpose-seeking fingers. Astor watched from the other side of Rosalia, his eyes wide as Riddick at last smirked with self-knowledge.

"Not a difficult piece at all. We just need a few certain tools."

"Like what?" Rosalia asked. But Riddick turned to Astor rather than Rosalia as he considered the boy.

"Plyers. A hammer of sorts. A short rod of strong material." He watched as Astor widen his eyes a little as though wondering if Riddick was asking him for those things. "Would you know anyone with those kind of things?"

With a numbed nod, Astor made to dash out the cell, but Riddick stopped him with a hand gesture. "Might be better if you told me the directions." Just in case he had to be 'persuasive' with the man. But Astor shook his head vigorously.

"W-we sh-should all g-g-go s-see him," he said in a mumble. Riddick raised an eyebrow, but he didn't raise a complaint. So be it. The boy must be used to violence, anyway.

"Lead the way." With a lazy hand on his side-knife and the other on the cuffed-wings, Riddick followed Astor with Rosalia next to him. When Astor was ahead by a few feet, Riddick let his hand fall from those strange wings to a knife that wasn't his own. Pulling it out, he flipped it over with a ease flick of his wrist, handing the black-bladed weapon to Rosalia. "You should be careful to not drop your weapons."

"Like I had meant to... But thank you," Rosalia said with hidden surprise, taking her blade back with unconscious slowness as though she couldn't quite believe he actually was returning her knife. She examined the blade for a few seconds, then slipped it into its rightful sheath. It was like getting her best friend back, Riddick lightly observed. Though the way she had looked at him earlier said that she was a little more glad to see him than the blade. That thought almost had Riddick smirk lightly to himself.

They went through a series of tunnels that led up a few floors before they reached Astor's apparent destination. He looked around rather fearfully at a few points, then entered a cell at last. Riddick followed him without much concern, Rosalia coming from behind with more caution.

A man sat with a knee drawn up to his chin, wheedling at a piece of wood into some unrecognizable shape of his own creation. He looked up with little concern as Astor approached him. "Ah, kid. What'cha want now?" Though when he saw Astor's company, he sat up straight and turned his sea-green eyes on them instead. "Company of the strange sorts. What do they want?" He addressed this to Astor rather than to the two adults more-than capable to speak for themselves.

"T-tools..." Astor said as he looked up from the floor to the man.

"Tools? What types you're lookin' for?" He finally acknowledged Riddick and Rosalia, though he kept glancing at Rosalia with a strange look.

"We'll need plyers in general, but a hammer and a rod of some sort would definitely help." Riddick moved to stand in front of the man himself. That seemed to start the bargain.

Rosalia eventually learned that the man's name was Kyle Tull, and was the man to ask for the tools needed for any job. He knew his trade and did it pretty well, in her opinion.

Though before they could discuss it further, a very loud alarm went off. Kyle turned pale, as did Astor. "Damn, it's time for the hunt..." Kyle muttered.

"Hunt?" Though as Riddick said this, people were starting to crowd into the same cell. He scowled and forcibly moved back to leave the cell himself. Rosalia and Astor followed, though the boy looked like he would have very much liked to stay in that cell. "Seemed that they're going to release creatures."

"I-I-I-I r-r-r-really d-d-don't w-want t-t-t-to be out h-h-here w-when th-they t-t-t-turn out t-the l-l-lights!" Astor cried as he attempted to sprint down the tunnel back to his own cell. Rosalia stopped him, though, looking confused.

"They turn out the lights during these 'hunts?'" she said as she kept a firm grip on the boy's shoulder. It was a good thing she did, for he was trembling hard enough for her hand to be shaken off if it hadn't gripped onto his shirt.

"Th-they c-can o-o-only be able t-t-to m-move in the d-d-darkness, f-f-for the l-light h-h-hurts them..." While that was cryptic to Rosalia, Riddick growled loudly enough for her to look at him.

"I know those creatures rather well. Let's not stick around for the lights to get turned off." He promptly turned and headed down the tunnel with an air of purpose, leaving Rosalia to be puzzled about these creatures before she let go of Astor and hurried after the two of them.

- - -

"What's that alarm for??" Kiley asked in confusion as she peered out the window into the courtyard. The man that was currently pushing a bowl of noodles of sorts looked up and then grinned.

"Oh, that? That's to let the prisoners run for cover before we let loose the beasts once the lights turn off."

"Beasts?" Ramza said with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, dun worry about them bursting in here; they can't even stand light, so not only do the steel walls protect us, so does the light." The man waved his hand with ease in his aura. He had no trouble knowing that prisoners were about to be killed and/or eaten. And Ramza and Kiley couldn't express their distaste for this, for the man might suspect something going on; after all, they're supposed to be disinterested Mercs with only money in mind. And they were about to be paid about 75k; the boss agreed to raise the price, and they had to act like it was delightful news.

'_Riddick will handle himself well enough. So can Rosalia,'_ Ramza tried to consol himself this. But he still couldn't help but worry. Glancing at Kiley, he could see a slight worried expression, but not about the creatures that were about to be released. It seemed to be something else she was seeing into those few ten seconds. And he couldn't ask what they were about.

"Oop, there goes the lights," the man said as the courtyard was suddenly plunged into darkness. At that particular moment, the windows were starting to be covered with steel that slid from above, soon blocking the sight beyond the windows. "Now then, how 'bout that ramen?" he said with no concern. Though when his back was turned, Ramza grimaced at Kiley, who frowned in return.

Seemed that Riddick and Rosalia were on their own.

"O-ooooooh..." Rosalia felt Astor grip onto her arm when she caught up with him. She couldn't blame him, for he couldn't see at all. She could see fairly well once her eyes adjusted, just like a cat could. Glancing at Riddick, she saw him whip off his goggles, and now there was a sheen that appeared every now and then whenever he looked around at her and Astor. That would be his eyes, she knew. "W-what c-c-can we d-do n-n-now???" Astor's grip intensified to the point of actually hurting, though Rosalia didn't make a sound over that.

"Do not worry, I can lead you," she said in a gentle voice, sounding more calm than she felt. "And if it all comes down to it... I will protect you."

"C'mon, this way," Riddick suddenly said as he turned to a tunnel that led to the courtyard. Rosalia blinked.

"That is not the way to the cell..."

"There's something already prowling near that cell. So unless you really want to get into a fight..." He let that hang in the air, and Rosalia had no more complaints.

"Just hold on to me," she merely said to Astor in a soft voice before moving to follow the man. Her heart pumped a little faster as they were now in the open courtyard, where they could hear the other prisoners yelling for directions or screaming in their panic. To them, the open area was almost more dangerous than the tunnels. But to Rosalia and Riddick, you had room to fight and kill; you don't get trapped very often in the open like in the tunnels, where you only have two ways of going somewhere.

Something flew just overhead, causing Rosalia to hiss to herself and glare up. She caught a glimpse of a creature flying past before jumping right into a tunnel, where she heard screaming a minute later. With a grimace of pain that shot through her head, she turned away and kept going; the blood was bound to attract a few more of those creatures.

"So how do you know these creatures..?" she asked very quietly to Riddick when she got next to him. She could see that his blades were out and at the ready. It was a good thing he could see in the dark probably better than she could, to some extent. If she had approached him the wrong way, she could very well find herself with a slashed throat.

"An encounter on a deserted planet would have been more than enough for me..." From how he said that, she remembered when he mentioned about a planet where he escaped with only two other people, out of nearly ten that made it alive from the crash of a forty-plus passenger cruiser. There were creatures that only stuck to darkness because the light actually hurt them... And they picked off all the other people.

"These are the same creatures?" Rosalia struggled to keep the panic from her voice, though there was a tinge of a high-pitch in her first word.

"Mm..." She took that as a yes. With narrowed eyes, Rosalia turned to watch to the side and behind them for those creatures. Transferring Astor to hold onto her tail in order to stay with them (though she found that was rather uncomfortable to her, as his grip resumed to their greatest strength), she pulled out her double-sided weapon and extended the blades to their fullest length. She was ready to slice anything that got close enough to attack them.

Five minutes went by with unease as they walked, but sure enough, there was a swish of wings from somewhere behind her. Getting Astor behind her, Rosalia swung as fast and hard as she could; the creature's head was sliced right in half and dropped dead onto the floor, its blood splattering all over Rosalia. Resisting the urge to shudder in disgust, she looked to see that Riddick stopped dead in his tracks, watching.

"And with the first, the rest will follow..." she heard him mutter, though it was directed at her entirely. It was meant for her ears alone. With a grim nod, Rosalia watched above as the other creatures were suddenly circling like giant vultures. The blood of their fellow creature was suddenly driving them nuts. It seemed that blood was what drove them, no matter that it was prey or their own...

"Fuck..." As she said this, the first of the creatures dived for the attack. "Astor, duck down to the ground, NOW!" She felt him release her tail immediately, and without a pause to see if he had got down to the ground, Rosalia launched up to the sky, her weapon ready to kill. She would protect the boy and her comrade, no matter the cost.

As Rosalia grabbed onto the first in the sky and attempted to attack another while on the first's back, Riddick was having a field day with the one that approached from the side and was attempting to stalk the boy on the ground. With ease, he attacked the vulnerable spots like he had been killing them all his life. In no time at all, it fell to the ground with its guts spilled out onto the dirt. Riddick retreated away, and sure enough, two other of the creatures had dived onto their fallen comrade to eat at its corpse. With a throaty growl, he turned to see that the boy remained motionless on the ground, in absolute terror and quaking where he lay. Riddick got to him and roughly brought him up by the elbow. "Move it!" he said when Astor remained limp, bringing the boy to life at last. With a firm grip on the boy's wrist, Riddick broke out in a run, the boy right behind him and trying to keep up.

Rosalia managed to take out two other creatures before killing the one that she jumped on, leaping at the last minute into the air for the next one close enough. She helped keeping the creatures' distracted, being that she was their first prey to leap high enough into the air to actually attack them. She glanced once in the direction of Riddick and the boy, and saw that they were both heading for cover, or at least cover for Astor. Satisfied enough with that, Rosalia returned to the task at hand, keeping a firm grip with her legs on the one she's on while slashing at one that attempted to get her. With a smirk, she waited for another to try. When it dived straight down at her, she jumped off and it collided with the one she was previously riding. Though she didn't see the one that dived at her from behind...

"Shit!!" she screamed when she felt something pierce into her shoulder, making her react instantly by slashing at the claws (or claw..?) that belonged to the attacker. It screamed as well as it tried to retreat, but she managed to use the momentum to turn around. With a yowl, she slashed right through the neck of the creature. It gurgled before free-falling down to the ground along with her. She landed lightly enough as the creature smashed into the ground right next to her. Growling in the pain from what it did to her shoulder, she glanced at its hand that it used to attack her. There, in the middle of its palm, was something like a claw that could shoot out for a long range and retract back into its palm... covered in her red blood. _'Goddess... Like they really needed an extra weapon...'_ she thought to herself with expostulation. Leaping away as three others converged onto their fallen, she felt sick as they started to rip at it. Though when a fourth appeared and it stared right at her as it made noise, she was smart enough to know that it wasn't the best time to be disgusted.

Riddick looked back in the time to see Rosalia get hurt while she was trying to land on the ground. He almost turned to charge back to where she was about to land, with that creature that got her. But remaining where he was because of Astor, he watched as she killed the creature and land on the ground with no more difficulty. She made for a dash in their direction after a minute of watching the creatures come upon their fellow dead member.

He should have been paying attention above him as well as around him on the ground. As he felt a sudden gust of wind from above him, he shoved Astor to the side and dived away as the creature crashed where he once stood. It leapt onto its feet and growled. Astor screamed as he attempted to make a run, for he could hear the creature right in front of him. With a sweep of its tail, though, it knocked Astor straight into the rocky-wall, and he laid there, either stunned or unconscious. Riddick wasn't sure which, but it wasn't good. He heard Rosalia yell the boy's name, but he was too busy with the creature to care.

"You don't know who you're fuckin' with," he growled before he launched at the creature with blades ready. This creature seemed to know his movements for what they were, for it dodged and attempted to attack his shoulder. Riddick dodged and went for a leg, slashing its ankle's tendons. It screamed as it fell with a crash, but as Riddick went for the kill, its tail was doing its work once again; it slammed into Riddick's knees. Using his falling momentum, Riddick slammed his right blade straight into the creature's hammerhead-like forehead. It died instantly as the man landed right next to it, gritting his teeth from the pain in his knees.

"Riddick!" Rosalia yelled as he went down, but she could see that he was fine other than for his knees. With a menacing growl, she attempted to reach the boy and man. Two other creatures converged onto her path, making their sounds and whipping their tails behind them gracefully. It was like they were anticipating for the taste of her blood. A growl rose from the girl's throat as she crouched down, her eyes completely silver. "You want to fucking dance? Then let's dance," she said with a rumbled-sort of voice, dashing straight at the one to the right. It brandished its teeth and made a swipe at her, the other snapping at her bleeding shoulder. She had made to fall backwards, avoiding both attacks and slid right underneath the creature she was attacking first. Jabbing into the stomach, she listened as it roared with its high-pitched voice, making her wince from the noise - her ears were not meant to listen to such high-pitched waves, not without hurting. It was like a dog whistle to a canine. She rolled out of the way as it crashed down to the ground, though her weapon got caught under it. Before she could pull it out from where it was, the other creature leapt over the other and pinned her to the ground. She had both clawed-hands at the distance, and was trying with all her might to push it back. It snapped at her with its razor teeth that glistening so bright, they were like silver instead of teeth. When its head couldn't quite reach, it suddenly pulled back its head and started to use its full weight on her.

'_**Oh, what fun...'**_ she heard within her mind, a sudden leap of fierce-joy of the battle that wasn't her own. The shock that overcame Rosalia allowed the creature to push forward by a few inches. _**'The struggle, the sheer brutality...'**_ Suddenly, her arms found strength she didn't have, pushing the creature by more than five inches away. It screeched at her, apparently in displeasure of not being any closer to the blood it desired. But Rosalia wasn't very concerned about the creature at the moment. _**'I want to spill blood!"**_

"Leave me!" she yelled as she struggled with two entirely-different battles at hand. With her face screwed up in high-concentration, she suddenly pulled the creature toward her, to its surprise. In doing so, her legs were free to shoot up and bunch under the creature at last, using its forward momentum to topple it off of her. She got to her feet and crouched once again, facing the creature as it struggled to get off its back and wings, wanting to get to its feet.

Feeling a whip of air behind her, Rosalia attempted to turn around to attack, but the creature got to her first. Its hind legs struck out and rammed into the small of her back. She flew forward over the other creature, smashing into the ground. She lost more than her wind from that attack, though...

She lost to the inner battle.

"C'mon, on your feet!" Riddick said as he got to the boy at last, when his knees weren't screaming in pain. The boy remained where he was, but Riddick could tell by his quickened breathing that he was conscious again. "Astor!"

A maniac-like laugh reached his ears, causing Riddick to stop what he was doing and glance over his shoulder. Rosalia got to her feet again... but something was entirely off. Even as he watched, her right wing suddenly lost warmth, and whatever warmth remained in the feathers fell to the ground in a shower. The similar effect happened to her horn, as well, which had the highest-amount of heat than the rest of her body. It simply dissolved off her forehead, or something similar to that effect.

'_Rosalia?'_ But the name wasn't for the girl; she wasn't Rosalia anymore, even though that sounded entirely bizarre as he thought that. The one wing that remained grew so slim that the cuff that previously bounded both wings slid loosely enough for her to yank off with no trouble.

The creature that got flipped onto its back finally got to its feet, screeching out its noise in order to find its target again. Whipping around, it found what it was looking for. Unfortunately for it.

A blur later, and its head was decapitated from its neck. Rosalia, as it seemed, used only her claws, for her blades were all in their sheathes, her guns tightly clasped in their holsters, and her largest blade was still trapped under the corpse of another creature. She wore a smile that spelled death as she turned to the next creature. It screeched and lunged for her. She did the same, and reached the creature in its mid-lunge; her right hand plunged straight into the chest where its heart would be beating. Cackling in triumph, she closed her claws around the beating heart. The creature struggled as it now attempted to get away instead, roaring in the intense pain it was feeling. As they landed back on the ground, the girl had the most force to land on top of the predator-turned-prey. It weakly tried to swipe at her, but with a yank, the creature stilled as its heart was pulled out of its chest.

The girl shuddered, but not in disgust as she watched the heart she just ripped out of the creature slow its beating. The blue blood poured down her arm, adding to the blood she already gained from the splashes that came out of each creature she as Rosalia had killed. She was entirely covered in the blood, plus her own from the previous attack on her shoulder.

She looked absolutely thrilled of the gore she finally got indulged in. Squeezing the organ in her hand, she watched it burst, spraying her in the face with fine blood first before it oozed the thick, blue blood down her hand and fingers. Letting it fall away, she laughed again, licking her lips and tasting the blood. It wasn't metallic like human blood, she noted. But it had a ting to it, like a sharp taste sour fruits had.

"How exotically different," she purred, a voice that rang a deep alto tone, not anything like Rosalia's slight soprano voice... Her eyes closed entirely, a smile continuing to play on her lips. She listened as a loud whirring-like noise sounded through the prison and its tunnels. It seemed to be the signal for the creatures to return to their lairs. The creatures screeched along with the noise, turning toward where they came from and flying at such a high speed that they were mere blurs. Emergency dim lights started to light the courtyard, but everyone were still in their cells and tunnels, cowering and trembling. No one were in the yard, or at least those alive, except for the three that had to fight for their lives. It would take maybe ten minutes for the lights to be switched on, but the dim lights were enough.

- - -

'_Finally...'_ Ramza thought to himself as the creatures were, at last, called back to their cells. The creatures had a full hour to devour any lingering prisoners. And all that sixty minutes, he and Kiley were much-too anxious, barely able to pull off that they were disinterested Mercs. Luckily for both he and Kiley, the man that was entertaining them had left to help with the round-up of those monstrous creatures. Ramza had collapsed into the nearest chair with a hand over his face when the door had slid closed. He was in near-hysteria. And he had no idea of what state Kiley was, considering that she could see into the future, even by ten seconds. If Riddick or Rosalia had been killed, she would have instantly let him know.

"Oh no..." he heard. He turned as Kiley slid down the wall she was leaning against, trying to look casual. She was sweating lightly, like she had seen a ghost. With confused eyes, Ramza got up to cross the room, placing a hand on her shoulder. She glanced at him. "Thornara..."

'_Thornara..? Thorn... ....!'_ "Thornara of the Exiled?"

- - -

"Rosalia."

Serenely, the girl turned her face to the man she had seen from a distance within Rosalia's mind. Her eyes opened at last, revealing pitch-black eyes where the white should have been, her usual brown-and-silver coloring deep red. Through the blue blood, her hair, wing, and tail had all changed colors as well. Brown hair was now black with red streaks. Her wing was as black as a starless sky. Her tail had switched colors, the main color now black and her spots were now white/silver.

"Now who're you to call me by that disgusting name?" she said, still quite serene with the fact that she was covered in blood. Bending down, she yanked out the blade that Rosalia had previously lost it at, retracting it without the care of the blood and slipping it into its sheath. She then lifted a hand to her face, examining the blood before beginning to lick at one finger.

"Then who are you?" Riddick's eyes narrowed in dislike, as he hadn't replaced his goggles back to cover them; this wasn't their Rosalia, just as he thought. She certainly wouldn't enjoy the thrill of the hunt, the taste of blood. This was someone else entirely.

"Me?" She raised her eyes away from her current task, raising an eyebrow. Where the horn should be at, was instead a large and deep scar, like someone had snapped it off right from its base a month ago. The x-scar that Rosalia had always had was far-more visible and dark against her almost-white skin. Her red lips quirked into a slow smirk as she watched Riddick. "It's Thornara." She suddenly dropped into a crouch, the smirk turning into a smile meant for battle. "Tell me, are you really that dangerous for a mortal? I've been _dying_ to find that out..."

Riddick growled quietly, his hand tightening its hold on his blade. But he made no move to raise it. "I won't fight you."

"Oh no?" Without warning, she dashed at him, making Riddick react by moving to one side. He watched as she whipped around to bring a clawed-hand down at him, and he didn't see a way to block or dodge it. But just as suddenly as she attacked, her hand stopped by mere inches. And what's-more, she looked surprised at the sudden halt. This Thornara turned to watch her hand shake, like it was pushing against an invisible barrier. She narrowed her eyes and seemed to push even harder. The hand stayed where it was, but was shaking more-vigorously. "Well damn."

She had said that with a light tone, like she was talking about the weather. Stepping back and lowering her hand, it finally stopped shaking. She sounded calm, but her face showed interested-disgust, like she was observing how to skin a rabbit and had to remember every detail, even though she didn't want to watch. "Seems that _she_ doesn't want to hurt you."

'_She must be referring to Rosalia,'_ Riddick thought to himself as he slowly straightened up, watching for any more attempts of an attack. But she only continued to examine her hand, seeming to have forgotten all about Riddick. A quick glance to where Astor was, he saw that the boy was sickened by the sight of this girl that wasn't Rosalia. Sickened, and very terrified. "What are you?" he said in a steely voice.

"Hm?" Thornara was brought out of her thoughts, gazing at the human before her. "An Exiled, of course; forced to be banished to the furthest-corner of the universe by the best way possible." She raised a blood-stained hand to her face, giving another lick at the blood. "By having our souls removed from our bodies and placed in strong-willed people of our opposite element." A look crossed her face, and Riddick understood it for what it was; _"Not like it worked in my case."_

A gasp from a bystander had her snap her head up in such speed, Riddick reacted and stepped in front of her to block the other person from sight. She growled as she swiped at him, an insane grin on her face. He casually blocked her hand and grasped onto her wrist.

"Let me go, I want blood!" she hissed as the grin dropped, snapping her teeth together arrogantly as she attempted to pry his hand off her wrist. She may be extremely fast and deadly, but she was no stronger than Rosalia herself was. With ease, Riddick grabbed her other hand and held them in a tight grasp, and she yowled out in protest. "It's been decades since I've spilt human blood!"

"So this was what Rosalia meant," Riddick muttered as he watched her struggle to be released. With a sudden twist with one hand, she slashed at his wrist as she kicked at his right knee. Finally freed, Thornara growled as she stared longingly at where the bystander was at, who had ran for it. Smart of him to do so, for Thornara was now wanting to hunt. Dashing by Riddick, she went into the closest tunnel, Riddick swearing mentally and rushing after her. He managed to catch her at the corner inside the tunnel, slamming her into the wall and pinning her hands in his once again. "Oh no, not on my watch."

She yowled indigently, desperately wanting to hunt a human that she knew she could kill without difficulty like she had with Riddick. With force, Riddick pinned both hands above her head to prevent her from performing the same trick twice, then stepped onto both of her feet with his. She was now unable to attack like she had before, trapped before the Furyan.

"What's one human life to you, anyhow?" she said after many curses, yowls and growls, struggling uselessly before finally going limp. "He means nothing to you, none of these people mean anything to you. I can see that in your eyes." She looked up at him, her black-and-red eyes staring reproachfully like she was denied a Christmas present. "Why bother to stop me from having my fun??"

"Rosalia."

"What?" She glared at him with suspicion unlike any other.

"She doesn't kill for pleasure. To allow you to take a life without cause would pain her beyond the usual." It was like it was the simplest thing in the world. As Thornara blinked in confusion, he narrowed his eyes and was the one to stare back into her eyes, like she had just a minute ago. "Now bring her come back."

"Never!" Thornara hissed with such fierceness that Riddick nearly pulled his face back. Almost. "Not until I've had my fun!" She resumed to struggle, but Riddick shifted his weight to press down against one foot more; it ceased her attempt instantly, for her feet weren't anywhere as strong as a human's. Four slender toes would break so easily under a sharp stomp by his heel if he chose to do so.

"I won't say it again." The tone in his voice hinted that he would force her somehow if she continued to resist. Then his eyes softened just slightly, but they still held a steel-look to them. "Rosalia, you're strong enough to push her back."

Thornara made to bark out a laugh, but it caught in her throat as her eyes widen slightly, the red slightly overcome by a weak silver. Riddick smirked as Thornara growled menacingly, but more like it was because she was about to lose than out of defiance. He could tell that he wouldn't be in her good grace for a very long time to come.

A minute went by as Thornara struggled weakly against both Riddick's hold and Rosalia's push for dominance. But eventually, her eyes shifted from black and red to the normal white and brown with feathery-silver along the edge of the brown. As soon as her eyes changed, the rest of her was instantaneous; a new wing pushed painfully from her skin as her other molted the black feathers, growing brand-new white feathers to replace them. Riddick had to pull away when her horn spiraled slowly out of her forehead like she was growing a new one. And as her tail shed the colors to replace them with the original colors, her hair seemed to simply wash the black out like she had washable black dye and was washing it out with water. Other than covered in blood from head to toe, she was Rosalia again.

Releasing her wrists after gingerly stepping off her feet, he expected her to stay upright. But she simply sank to the ground and sat there as though in shock. That, or she was trying not to throw up by making no sudden movement. Riddick couldn't decide on which.

"Come on, you can't sit there forever," Riddick said after studying her still figure. He reached down and took her by the elbow, gently pulling her up little by little, doing so until she was shakily on her feet again. Through her arm, he felt her shaking slightly in a mixture of shock, exhaustion, adrenalin, and strong emotions she refused to show openly. Perhaps anger at herself, disgust, fear, or a combination of all three and/or more. "Alright, a foot in front of the other. Come with me; we're leaving this hell-hole."

"Astor," she finally managed to say through a tight throat. It seemed to have been forced before closing her mouth firmly again.

"Yeah, he's comin' too, can't leave a kid in this hell," Riddick said, though slightly grudgingly. But it had Rosalia move faster, so he guessed he could deal with one more person.

They found the boy where they left him, but it seemed that he was horrified at the prospect of Rosalia coming near him. His eyes went wide as he watched both adults come near him, and though Astor didn't try to move, he was shaking. In the end, it was Riddick that convinced him to come with them, though Astor stayed as far away from Rosalia as he possibly could.

Looking up, he could see Ramza and Kiley slowly making their way to the ship. Just on time. Obviously, the elevator was out of the question. He already had that thought up, and why he was bothered to help Rosalia get her wings unbounded earlier. "Rosalia." She blinked at the name, but otherwise remained impassive to contact. "You have to get us up there, one at a time if you have to. Before the guards realize that you're quite free to fly."

With sudden conviction to herself, Rosalia acted quite fast, surprising Riddick to a degree; with forced strength, she swiftly stood between Astor and Riddick, swung Astor onto her back without caring about her bag (to Astor's absolute terror), wrapped her arms around Riddick's midriff from behind, and forced her wings to lift all three of them. Just in time, too, for the guards realized that something was wrong besides that many of the creatures they released were killed in action. They ran at the three of them, but when they got around to pulling their guns out, they were quite out of range. Rosalia strained with every few feet she managed to get into the air, so by the time she reached the top floor right in front of the ship, she yelped as her wings cramped-up, releasing Riddick just a few inches from the ground. She would have hit the ground if Riddick hadn't reacted fast enough to catch her and Astor. Ramza and Kiley gave a start, but as due to the plan, they couldn't run forward to help. Riddick gruffly placed Rosalia onto her feet without a second glance at her.

"MOVE!" Riddick said as he made to push the two into the ship with Rosalia following behind with a scared Astor clinging to her back. So to the guards, it seemed that not only did two convicts made quick-work with many of their beasts, they were also taking a ship with hostages. In less than a minute, the doors closed swiftly and the ship lifted into the air as the guards that were on the same floor rushed forward in useless attempt to stop them. They cleared the atmosphere in record time, and were gone.


	9. Chapter 9

We've escaped without a hitch, and as far as we can tell, without a pursuit. It seems that Victor might not be the big problem like we had thought before the whole trouble with the Mercs and guards of Ursa Luna. We're on the run, with no specific direction of where.

I can't quite remember the whole trip... it was mostly a blur. Shock does that to people, whether I wanted it to or not. I do remember Astor still being slightly hesitant around me, though it seemed to have gotten better. Kiley must have been at work again.

But I thought that at a few points that... Riddick seemed to care. Urgh... maybe it was my imagination. I don't know...

Maybe I should push that all back until I know better...

**Disclaimer**  
I don't own Riddick in any way, shape or form. The credit goes to the creator(s), and the directors that had been given permission to make the movies. This story was rated M for extreme violence and possible adult scenes. All characters that won't be making their appearance in any book or movie are mine by rights. I would still like more reviews, but I'm happy that I'm not forgotten... ^^;

"Well, that was close," Kiley laughed as she swerved her chair around, a smile on her lips, the first since they got to Ursa Luna. She surveyed the kid, Astor, with interest until she looked up to see Ramza unsmiling. "What?"

Riddick was piloting the ship, but as soon as they cleared the atmosphere of the prison system and was sure they weren't being followed, he flipped it to auto-pilot after inputting a destination. He pushed back from the consol before turning it to face his company. Ramza remained in his seat with a look that plainly said that he was in deep thought. Astor nervously continued to look around as he stayed to the side of his chair, as though he couldn't quite believe that he was out of the prison. And Rosalia... she didn't bother to take a seat, seeing as all four were taken, so she took to sitting on the cold floor against the wall. She still looked like she was in shock, but she must be coming out of it, for she kept turning pale at times.

"Yuck," Kiley eventually said as she surveyed from Astor to Rosalia, and then Riddick. "Maybe you should all get cleaned up." She wrinkled her nose like the smell of blood was disgusting. Well, for all Riddick knew, it was to her. Blood wasn't anything new to him.

"The kid first, I think," Ramza finally said as he looked up at first to Kiley, and then to Astor. Astor blinked as he looked at Ramza. "After all, I'd say that prison didn't give the prisoners decent showers. What's the bet that he hadn't had a shower for the whole time that he's been there?"

"... ... T-t-three y-y-years," Astor said as he glanced around at the company (trying not to flinch at Rosalia when he spotted her). He watched as Ramza gave a surprised look, and then grinned lightly.

"See? C'mon kid, I'll show you the shower and then get ya some clothes. Dirt and grime isn't exactly that good for your health." When Astor nodded slowly and got up, Ramza stood as well and led him toward the back. Kiley grinned as she stretched her arms over her head, not in the very least concerned.

"So how'd the kid get mixed-up with us?" she asked, even though Riddick was quite certain that she knew, and was attempting a stab at being 'normal.'

"Met Rosalia on her arrival," Riddick simply said, stealing a glance at Rosalia herself. She still looked like she'd rather vanish on the spot than join in.

"Yeah, well, that's to be expected; weakness for kids, you know," Kiley said with an understanding smile. "O'course, though, it's not like I could have left the kid there, either, seeing as he didn't do anything wrong!" As Riddick predicted, she only attempted to be normal, but she already knew the story.

Soon enough, Astor and Ramza returned. The shower certainly changed how he looked; instead of being dark-skinned because of the dirt, he was quite pale, but not white. His black hair definitely extended beyond the length Riddick had thought it was, nearly reaching his waist. He had scars along his left shoulder and arm, but otherwise, he was certainly a charming young man.

"Didn't exactly have anything his size, but these have to do," Ramza said as he rubbed the back of his head. "He also wants to cut his hair, but I'm not exactly that great."

"Oh! I can do that easily!" Kiley said enthusiastically. In which case, Astor looked worried at such excitement. "No, really, I can." She mended her actions by becoming just a little calmer. "Sit over on this chair, and just tell me how much. Good thing you left your hair wet, it makes things much easier."

So as Astor watched in astonishment as Kiley sheared through his hair with just water (she used that potential-dangerous cutting technique rather than clumsy scissors), Riddick stood from where he stood and walked slowly toward the back of the ship. He glanced at Rosalia to make sure that she was alright, in which she looked up as well. After a minute, she jerked her head to the direction he was heading, silently saying to go on ahead as she was planning to clean up last.

Sliding the thick door between him and the rest of the ship, Riddick flipped the lights off that Astor left on before pulling his goggles off. His eyes shined despite no light as he pulled his blood-stained shirt off, then the rest of his clothing. He rarely allowed himself the luxury to take a proper shower, but he felt that he deserved one at that particular moment. After washing his clothes without caring if they're stained or not, he squeezed them of water before tossing them onto a rack to dry, then climbed into the shower himself.

As the hot water started to relax his muscles while he soaped his skin, his thoughts seemed to sneak through his carefully-built barriers. He was looking back on the fight with the creatures, of Rosalia's fight. There was no denying that she was very dangerous, about as dangerous as he was when she's enraged. And this Thornara was lethal and blood-thirsty, who would do anything to spill blood. So how had Rosalia stopped her darker-half from attempting to slash at Riddick...?

"_Well damn. Seems that __**she**__ doesn't want to hurt you."_ Those were Thornara's words. They've puzzled Riddick, even now. Rosalia fought to keep Thornara from hurting him, even though she couldn't fight to gain back control. So what does he mean to her, exactly? And at the same time, what does she to him..?

'_No way, not after all that happened to me,'_ he thought as he scowled at himself. There was no way, after all the pains and people he lost simply for being around him, that he was starting to like Rosalia as more than a comrade. He shouldn't even be feeling more human; he was certain that he couldn't even feel compassion after Kyra's death. To show weakness was to sign a death certificate while among the Necromongers as their short-termed ruler.

But even so... The Necromongers had fallen apart and became no more; none but either the most-determined or the most-insane would dare chase him for money now; he was quite able to live a more-peaceful life after so long, only having to deal with idiots that may find him without much of a fight...

Should he dare, though, to even have a glimmer of hope?

While Riddick was away, Ramza seemed to have waited for that, though he waited for about five minutes before he acted on his impulse. Turning to Rosalia, he dropped next to her with a face that clearly said that it was serious business. "How come you never said anything?" he accused, after maybe another two minutes had passed, Kiley occasionally looking over at the silent company (Astor did so as well, confused and curious) until he spoke. She looked up with a blank look, not answering until he was specific. But she knew what it was about. "That you harbored an Exiled."

"...Truthfully, I thought every one of us had a so-called 'dark side,'" she replied with a hollow voice. She was not very keen to talk about this.

"She told ya that, did she?" Ramza seemed to glare through Rosalia, like he was trying to glare at Thornara. All it really resulted was that Rosalia heard a dark, gleeful laugh in her mind. She grimaced, making Ramza blink.

"Would you mind _not_ doing that? That just makes her gloat." And for once, she used a hand to make distance, making him rock back on his heels to avoid being touched by a hand covered in blue blood. It was the first time that Rosalia looked at her hand, suddenly looking sick. There were lick marks along her fingers. "Goddess, I think I am going to be sick..."

"What's that?" Riddick had just came out of a relatively-short shower, just pressing his goggles against his eyes as he walked out. Rosalia didn't answer except to stand up and rush for the shower herself. Riddick allowed her passage, listening as she reached the shower, closed the door, and heard a short sound of retching. He turned to glare at a shocked Ramza, who apparently hadn't expected the girl to run in such a hurry. "What have you done to have her rush off?" he said in a calm, yet steely voice.

"I... Well, it was more-like the sight of her hand, I mean... Now look, I didn't ask her to look at her hands!" Ramza stuttered out when Riddick seemed to want to take a step toward him.

"You could have at least waited until a good-night sleep before you attacked her," Kiley said with a sniff, rolling Astor's discarded hair in a ball of water that had formed in her hands; the result of pulling the water off of the boy's hair once she finished cutting. He now had shoulder-length hair that looked quite spiffy on him, so she said. "It's not her fault that she has Thorn as a counter-part." Astor looked up at her with wide eyes, but remained silent. He was too busy absorbing the information about his Rosalia and that creature that came out of her.

"Which reminds me, how come you know her??" Ramza rounded on Kiley, though rather than frightened or astonished at the sudden turn-about, she yawned behind a hand.

"I had an unpleasant pleasure to meet Thornara back on my world," she merely said like she was commenting about the weather. "Now, mind you, all I really had to do was trap her in a swirl of water and hold her there until she reverted back; being an Elemental has its advantages." If Astor's eyes weren't any wider, they'd be the size of dinner plates by this point. At this, Kiley looked down at the boy and grinned. "Dun go holding what happened in the prison against Rosalia; Thornara happens to be a persistent person, loves to be in the thick of things. And a battle-to-the-death would excite her to no end. Now Rosie stops her much-more often than anyone here may realize-"

"Except you, of course," Ramza muttered.

"-so you shouldn't have to feel afraid around Rosalia." It was obvious to everyone, especially to Rosalia, that Astor was scared-stiff of the girl ever since the appearance of Thornara. But Kiley thought it to be so unfair to judge Rosalia for what the Exiled had done when she took over. "So do you see what I'm saying?"

Astor seemed to consider her words for many long seconds. And slowly, he nodded. "...O-o-okay."

"Good, then maybe that'll make Rosalia a little bit more happier," Kiley said as though it settled the matter. Ramza, meanwhile, huffed to himself. He could still feel Riddick's glare on him.

When she had reached the bathroom, Rosalia had kneeled down next to the toilet to let what raised up into her throat out. It was rare of that to happen, but in her current state, she couldn't exactly stop it; especially since she didn't want the blood that Thornara had licked in her stomach once she realized it. She should have expected it, really... but the last few times that Thornara had managed to get out, there was no blood for her to spill. And thus, there hadn't been an incident like this for a long time.

'_Fuck, that was not very refined of me...'_ she thought to herself as she finally sat on the floor, wiping her mouth with a part of sleeve not smeared with blue blood. Rosalia was pretty sure that it hadn't impressed anyone out there, especially Riddick... With a sigh, she got to her feet and, pausing only long enough to yank her backpack off and her tool belts with her weapons, got into the shower, turning the water on as hot as she could stand. And she much-preferred not to open her eyes to watch blue water going down the drain. Once she felt safe that she could open her eyes and not get sick all over again, she washed at her wings, clothes, tail, and currently-available skin, wanting the blood off of her as soon as possible, if not sooner.

'_I will bet that I am currently viewed as someone weak,'_ Rosalia thought after her vigorous work with her clothes; unlike Riddick, she cared enough, for they were her only set of clothes. _'I could have handled it just fine. But oh no, Thornara had to, just cannot resist the temptation.'_ With slight difficulty, she managed to unzip the back of her shirt once untying the folds around her wings, and pulled it off, doing the same for the undershirt that served as a bra of sorts. As though the wall offended her, she threw her tops at it, watching as they hit without much damage as she wished and flopped onto the metal-floor. With a sigh, she discarded her soaked boots, gloves and the rest of her clothes, though without throwing them at the wall as well. Pulling a dangling collar from her sash-belt, she set that aside and then picked up her soaked clothes to hang on the side of the wall, though she had to find another way to dry her boots.

Without pants and boots to obscure the way anymore, it could be seen that the fur that was always around her odd feet ran all the way up to her knees, and faded half-way up the thighs. The fur was like her tail, white with small black spots, expected. But admittingly, the rest of her was as human as she could be

Stopping a yawn, Rosalia turned her attention back to her wings, where it was the most difficult to clean. One was nearly spotless, being that Thornara hadn't had a wing in its place, but the other, while the feathers had molted and regrown, was still tinted as blue. _'This is such a pain...'_

Nearly twenty minutes passed since Rosalia disappeared to the back. Kiley hummed and tapped her foot to some unknown tune as she waved a large towel in her hand around; at one point, she decided that she wanted to get one when she went to dispose of the water and Astor's discarded hair.

Nobody bothered to question her.

"She can't still be in the shower," Ramza said after a short time since they've fell quiet from their discussion. Astor was curled up on one seat, fast asleep. Riddick had made himself comfortable with one foot propped on the consol. Though when Ramza spoke up, he slid his foot off and turned his chair around. "Seriously, not even her wings could have her take this long."

"If you noticed, the water's been off for quite some time," Kiley said nonchalantly as she doesn't bother to look up. Ramza may had looked at her with a confused look, but Riddick had noticed the same thing a bit ago. "Though maybe one of us should check on her, just in case." Again, in a tone that suggested that there wasn't anything wrong.

"Fuck that, I think she'd rip my throat out," Ramza said instantly as his hand went up like he was protecting it.

"Considering that you attacked her, yeah, that might be wise."

"Now wait a minute-!"

"I'll check." The deep gravelly voice of Riddick definitely settled the matter, though Ramza gazed at him with a slight disbelief sort of look. But unlike him, Riddick was certainly not afraid of the girl. So without another word, Riddick stood up and started to head for the back of the ship. But before he disappeared from the front, he heard a whistle behind him. Glancing back, his hand expertly caught the tossed towel Kiley threw at him.

"Just in case," she simply said with a grin as Riddick raised an eyebrow. Again, there wasn't much need to ask... Elementals and their arrogant knowledge...

He knocked the door first, obviously; he doubt that she would react kindly if someone merely opened the door without so much as an introduction. But all he heard inside was silence. With a scowl, he slid the door open.

Apparently, at one point, Rosalia simply just fell asleep, one arm lazily draped over her bent knees and her head against the corner in the shower stall. And as he spotted the collar on her neck, she decided that she didn't want to bother with her wings, tail and horn for awhile. Of course, though, her hair and fur along her legs (as he had expected from a guess back on Aquila Major) were still damp from the water. He was slightly surprised that she wasn't shivering from the coolness of the metal and air.

Not embarrassed in the least to have found her asleep in the nude, Riddick shook his head slightly and didn't had to wonder anymore of why Kiley tossed him the towel. He stepped away from the door, that slid behind him as it was built to do for anyone, and kneeled next to Rosalia, prepared to wrap the towel around her. What had him pause was the colors he could see on her back. Intrigued, he pulled her clinging hair from her skin over her shoulder for a proper look. From what he could see, the colors would have been thought as tattoos, though somehow, he doubted that was the case. She wasn't the type to go out one day and get tattoos all over her back, Rosalia. The design roughly reminded him of the designs on the gun he had long-since tucked away in his room, though it was for something more than decoration.

Another puzzle to solve, though it was a welcoming one.

'_Ingenious to hide the markings on her back where cloth and wings would block them,'_ he thought as he placed the towel on her, wrapped her in it, then gently lifted her in his arms. As he knew, she was quite light-weighted, which would have been thought unhealthy by human standard. If she was a human with the height of 5'9", the weight of seventy pounds would have sent her straight to intensive care in some hospital.

Leaving the room, it was to find Kiley in a similar position, but with Astor in her arms instead. She grinned lightly as she winked and kept walking to the very back of the ship, in which Riddick followed after. Kiley took the boy in the room that Rosalia had once claimed for herself and placed him on the bed with somewhat care. "Let's make this better," he heard from her, and before he could bother to ask, she raised one hand in his direction. Instantly, water flew from Rosalia, and her hair and fur was completely dry. Kiley grinned at Riddick's blank face and, while holding a small ball of water in one hand, picked something else from a small shelf with her other. "I'll have to take care of her clothes, so she'll have to do with this until she wakes up." A simple, lilac-colored tunic with silver designs all around it, which he suspected it had to do with the moon of Earth. Riddick often wondered if she could see further into the future than she claimed, but she merely winked, placed the tunic on Rosalia's stomach, and skipped out of the room.

Hmph. Typical Elemental, to leave an uncomfortable duty to someone else. But nonetheless, he didn't seem to mind it as much than if having to do the same thing for Kiley, or the kid. He simply could have woke Rosalia up and tell her to dress and go back to sleep, but it might be a bit more kinder for her to remain oblivious of all that was happening around her for at least another few hours.

Setting her on the bed next to Astor (who curled up under the sheets), he unfolded the tunic and slipped it over her head. Unnaturally, though, he made sure to adjust the tunic to accommodate her chest, and where her wings would rest. Pulling her hair from underneath the tunic, he then laid her down and pulled the sheets over her. _'That blasted Elemental could have done this herself,'_ he thought to himself as he turned away from the sleeping figures on the bed and started to head for the door. He stopped when he heard Rosalia mumble a name in her sleep, causing him to glance over his shoulder. She didn't move or make another sound, so after a minute of watching her, he left the room with a ever-slight smirk.

The next waking period (the equivalent of the next day) was what was pretty interesting.

"Alright, who was the bastard who had put me in a fucking dress?" Rosalia came out of the room with a look that spelt murder. Riddick, who was sharpening a knife in his usual seat in the other direction, smirked in amusement.

"Awwww, but I think it looks good on you!" Kiley said innocently as she looked up from the floor with Ramza, apparently learning about his written language. She smiled as Rosalia turned her glare on her. "And by the way, it's a tunic, not a dress."

"Like it really matters; either way, my legs are exposed." The tunic only reached down to her knees, and while she was wearing her boots, it rather looked like she was wearing furry stockings of the sort. "Where are my clothes, Kiley?"

"I spaced them," the Elemental joked. Rosalia was in no mood for jokes; she watched as Rosalia's face turned from murderous to blank with slitted eyes, the worst kind of look there was. It was the look reserved for those about to be killed. "I didn't, I was only kidding! They're folded up and stored, look!" Kiley jumped up and led Rosalia to where a shelf was in the room, though because it was almost out of sight, Rosalia wouldn't have known it was there until Kiley pointed it out.

And in the front of the ship, both girls could hear a laugh and a chuckle from the two men. Kiley laughed along with them, but Rosalia remained unmoved. It wasn't exactly fun to wake up and realize that one; she was no longer asleep in the shower, and two; she was dressed in something that wasn't to her taste. Okay, she'd admit that the tunic was more her style than anything else, but she still much doesn't like one-piece clothing...

"C'mon, deal with it like a big girl and hang out with us," Kiley said as she grabbed onto one of Rosalia's hands and pulled. With a sigh, Rosalia reluctantly allowed herself to be pulled back from the room and followed the Elemental back to the main port. Astor was still asleep, and Rosalia wasn't much-keen on changing in the same room, anyhow.

"You suck, you know that, right?" Rosalia grumbled at her friend, who merely grinned. Kiley returned to her place on the floor, and Rosalia took the chair next to Riddick, folding her arms and looking slightly interested in what was going on with Ramza. "So aside from switching my wardrobe on me, what have the Elemental been up to?" she said out loud. Kiley giggled as she winked at Ramza.

"Learnin'," she said. "Ramza's been showing me how your people used to write." 'Your people' as in the Yamako people. Intrigued, Rosalia leaned forward a little. From the look she was giving, she never seen complete sentences. Or at least not for a very long time.

"It looks like a strange form of Japanese of which no Japanese person would ever create..." Rosalia said, giving a single blink. The 'words' were in some sort of symbols, though if one examined them long enough, they could see individual characters that must be letters. "What was the language called?"

"It's called Veul Liox, which means to our people 'True Souls.' We've been an ancient race in all our own rights, but in truth, we're only a few thousand years older than the human race."

So much for these 'Yamako' to have been an result to human segregation and generic manipulation. Riddick seemed to have gained more interest as he turned his glance from the stars to the three. "So why would your language be called as though your people had the original names of everything?" he questioned.

"As you just put, that's exactly why. To recognize the true name of, say, trees, even those who don't have control over Nature or Earth could have an extent. But you wouldn't have any response with the name 'tree,' as you probably can guess." Ramza grinned. "It proved to work on most planets we've visited." Riddick nodded slowly as he digested that piece of information. "Anyway, we can write like you can with any language, but there's a secondary part of the language entirely made of symbols, one or two to represent a specific object or meaning." He drew a particular pattern on the paper that almost looked like a curvy 'F', with the second line below the first stroked through the almost-vertical line, then a u-like curve below and beside to the right of the f-like one. A small circle occupied the space above the u and just below the second-line's end.

"Protection," Rosalia murmured to herself, but all three of her companions looked to her. But she didn't seem to have noticed that she spoke.

"You've seen this?" Ramza asked.

"I... think so." She narrowed her eyes in thought. "In a dream, I believe..." Though she didn't seem sure of it.

"Hmn." Riddick studied the symbol, then a slow smirk appeared on his lips. "Perhaps you're thinking of something so close to you, it's practically your skin."

"What are you - " She halted in mid-sentence, her eyes suddenly widening. "You do not mean you..." A hand reacted by reaching around and touched her back, as close to her wings as it could reach even though they're not there. "How did - !" Then came the realization. "It was _you_?" Riddick wasn't sure what was strongest; shock, resentment, or embarrassment. Though, since her cheeks actually achieved a deep-red color for the first time since they've met, he had to guess the last one.

"I sense an impending doom," Kiley joked as she tried with an effort to hold back a laugh. If she wasn't shaking with tremors of that laugh, she might have pulled it off. Ramza, on the other hand, was dumbfounded, not able to figure exactly what Rosalia was implying.

"What's being said here that I'm not getting...?" He watched as Kiley manage to roll her eyes through her silent laughter. It was like it was obvious. But then it did for Ramza; Rosalia had realized who it was that picked her up from the shower and dressed her in the tunic she came out furious about just a few minutes ago. "Oooohh..." He scratched the side of his cheek as Riddick kept smirking, who watched Rose as she tried to figure out how to react.

After a minute, she just crossed her arms and looked elsewhere. The only indication that she was still embarrassed was that her cheeks remained red. Kiley finally laughed while Riddick continued to smirk in amusement. Ramza settled to patting Rosalia's shoulder sympathetically.

Though right then, the ship's alarm blared as all lights had turned red; a split-second warning before the ship shook enough to throw all of them out of their seats.

**Well, I finally completed this chapter, and now it's time to leave you hanging. XD See ya next time in Chapter 10!**


	10. Chapter 10

So our ship crashed-landed on a rather-desolate planet, though from the remains of cities, this planet was once thriving with human activity. Unfortunately, we've been separated into groups; myself and Riddick had crashed near the western hemisphere. Kiley, Ramza and Astor were somewhere way up north. I couldn't even begin to guess the distance, but it was far-more than a thousand miles.

And we have no way to communicate with one another.

Our best bet is to stay away from the creatures that brought us down, and stay alive. Because if we're even spotted by those things, they would try their hardest to run us down. From what we've heard from stranglers and survivors, they take humans alike...

For food and fuel supply.

**Disclaimer**  
I don't own anything of Riddick, nor in any way did I influence the author or something. I claim credit for characters of my design, and the same goes for the planets that won't ever be making an appearance in the Riddick series. Thankies!

"What's going on?!" Ramza yelled as he found himself laying on his side. The ship's alarms were blaring, making Rosalia and Ramza wince from the noise. The rocking seemed to have stopped, but it was instantly rammed again by something.

"Penetration made in the hull," Riddick said, all business as he glanced at the controls. By this point, Astor ran into the front of the ship, wobbling to keep his balance. Rosalia checked him over once, concluded that he was fine, then dashed to the back of the ship where she slept. She managed to grab her bag, belt of weapons and clothes before another attack shook the ship with such force that she got knocked down. Struggling to her feet, she just managed to leave the room and back to the others. "Launching all supplies to the planet below us."

"What'd be the point if we can't find it??" Ramza said despite that he was terrified.

"Better to have a chance of finding it than none at all," was his answer. "It'd be a good time to pile into the escape capsules."

"But what's attacking us?" Rosalia asked, slipping her belt around her waist to lock it, then tied the sash. She glanced at Kiley, hoping for an answer.

The Elemental was amazingly surprised, shock written all over her face. It was like she was sucker-punched. "How didn't I see this?" she uttered to herself.

Oh great, just what they needed; a shocked Elemental, who's usually the level-headed one in dire situations.

"Escapage time," Rosalia said as she pulled her friend to her feet and practically had to guide her to her pod. The ship shook again as the Elemental just climbed in. Looking to the screen in time, she saw what would haunt her dreams for quite some time; a disgusting version of a human-like chicken was peering into the ship to see just what they had brought down. _'Dear Goddess, that's horrifying.'_ The creature had black eyes that peered beneath its hood-like clothes, a wicked beak clacking together as though it was whistling its own tune. Its feather-like skin was sickly pale, reminding Rosalia of someone dying from pneumonia or something similar. Hands with six quadruple-digit fingers skimmed to the screen like it was counting the passengers.

Whatever else was on this creature was obscured by its bellowed-cloak, as well as the shaking of the screen. It went blank just as it cracked from the strain of the ship. Good thing Astor hadn't seen it, seeing as he got into his pod from Ramza's directions.

"Shai'fores," Ramza muttered darkly. That was an unfamiliar word, so it must mean the name of the species. Before Rose could bother to ask, he climbed into his own pod.

"Time to go," she heard Riddick say in a calm manner, brushing past her to climb into the first pod. There needed no encouragement for her to climb into hers. When the pods launched from the side of the ship, they're designed to stick together from a mechanism that acted similar to that of a powerful magnet. In doing this, ships' occupants would land closely together to save the effort of finding one another.

"Launching," the computer voice cooly said as the lids closed. They felt the pods themselves unlock from their position, then came the sickening whoosh that sent them out to space and toward the planet, the first one with hospitable air the ship detected.

There wasn't much window to look out, but they all watched as the ship, after a full minute of continuous attack, suddenly explode. It probably would have been more impressive if it happened on a planet, for the explosion expanded for half a second before dissipated with little flames. No oxygen in space for fire to continue.

By this point, it seemed the attackers realized that their quarries were making their escape. Before Rosalia closed her eyes, three scout ships shaped like mutated and deformed wingless-hawks turned their fire on them. _'Goddess of all Planets, help!'_ she silently prayed. For once, she was afraid to die, for she didn't get a fighting chance.

Her pod shook like a rattler, causing her to get knocked about. But amazingly enough, all five pods remained intact. It seemed that something got grazed, but they were too small to be hit. By this, the ships swerved off and headed away from them. That was because gravity took over, and the five pods were now five hurtling objects heading for the surface. Rosalia braced for impact...

Whenever she regained conscious, she wasn't sure where she was. At first, she thought she was back on the ship, about to take over panel watch. But as she tried to open her eyes, at first all she saw was darkness. Reaching with a hand, she made to rub at them when the roof of the capsule grazed her hand. Frozen, she wondered at first someone had decided to play a bad joke on her and put her in a coffin. But as the aches of her head being knocked against the walls finally registered, she remembered what she was in, for what reason.

Now the question remained as to where she was.

With a small groan of pain, she fumbled around for the release mechanism somewhere near her head. Grasping it as soon as she touched it, she pulled, the pod's lid hissing as it unsealed itself and popped up.

'_At least I landed right...'_ she thought to herself as she made to sit up. Dizziness overcame her senses, and she had to put her head between her knees for the sensation to pass by without her throwing up. _'That sucked...'_ Shaking her head to make sure that she was fine, she finally climbed out of the pod at a slow pace.

If it wasn't for the aches caused by the impact, she probably would have had a bigger headache as she looked around. Where they've landed would have been a jungle, brimming with life of both plants and animals. But instead in its place was blasted trees, shriveled-up plants, and dead carcasses. There wasn't a green tree for miles; she didn't even spot one with her sharp vision.

"Holy shit..." It wasn't from their crash, she knew that for certain. So the creatures that shot them down had their 'fun' here, as well... Before she could start cursing the fiends to every torture imaginable, she heard somewhere behind her the rattling of something. Turning her head, she spotted only one other pod, and it had rolled upside down during the landing right after impact. Crossing her pod and the jagged ledges of the crater the two pods made, she somehow managed to flip the pod over. The lid of the pod finally popped up, revealing Riddick within the compartment. With a grunt, he climbed out like he did that kind of stuff before breakfast. He obviously wasn't bothered by nausea or aches. Rosalia actually had a pang of jealousy before she turned back to the scene before them.

"Fuck." That was the first word out of the man's mouth as he glared up at the dark sky. She may have heard him say that many times, but not with the tone he used. He was downright pissed, and he wasn't afraid to show it. After a few seconds, he looked back to Rosalia, seemingly calm once again. "Where's the others?"

"Their pods are not here..." Rosalia indicated to the grounds around them, looking for signs but somehow knew that she wouldn't find them. She couldn't even feel that connection with Ramza. "I have no idea where they went."

"That shot must have destroyed the connection between your and Astor's pods." Very inconvenient for half the crew to be somewhere else on the planet. Riddick supposed at least the kid was with two capable fighters. At least he hoped so. "Hmn." He watched as the girl looked back at him when he made that noise. He smirked lightly. "At least you'll be useful in finding them again." She blinked, then realized that he meant about the connection feeling between herself and Ramza.

While she felt comforted by that, she rolled her eyes at him. "So I suppose that means I am a tracker dog." A small tone of insult crept in her voice, but she otherwise didn't betray that emotion to him. "But I would like to know how that would work, considering that we would not know the first clue of finding them. Let alone figure out how to get out of this mess." So with that, she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow in question.

"First off, we're going to find ourselves a guy that knows the condition of this world. 'Cuz I doubt that those things found us by chance." He looked to the landscape around them, Rose doing the same. "This has their work written all over the place."

"The Shai'fores?" When she noticed Riddick looking at her, she shrugged. "I heard Ramza mention the name of the species before we went hurtling out into space."

"Whatever their name, they're a nasty bunch." Pulling a blade out of his belt, Riddick surveyed the area. "We'll head this way, along the river's dried-up bank. There's bound to be a town, wrecked or not." Nodding to the trail that was once a deep river, he started off without much else to say. Frowning to herself, Rosalia followed him closely.

Picking their way through, around and over uprooted trees and boulders, Rosalia at one point just pulled her boots off to bound without restriction. Leaping up onto boulders with ease, she scouted ahead while Riddick effortlessly made his way through. The sky was a sick-green color from all the smoke that emitted from the ruined lands below.

"Ruined town ahead, but we have to climb over a small hill," Rosalia called down from the top of a rock, glancing down at Riddick. When he nodded in affirmation, she leapt off the rock and landed with no effort to walk with him. "For a ruined planet, there is little corpses other than wild beasts..." To her, it was ominous.

"This is just the part of a jungle; I doubt people usually travel here in droves unless they were given a choice." It didn't quite comfort Rosalia, but she nodded in agreement.

Arriving at the town she spotted after twenty minutes of walking, Rosalia was hit with dread that there weren't even corpses. Though she hoped against hope that it meant the people had fled before the attack happened. A small chance, but it was better than nothing.

"The town hall will be our best bet for a survivor," Riddick said as he kept going. He didn't seem affected by the silence. "If not, then we'll check through the houses and perhaps gather supplies."

'_So we will be stealing...'_ But he was right, if they wanted to find the rest of their friends any time soon. With a sigh, Rosalia merely followed him to the largest (and most ruined) building.

All the houses were built of some sort of plastic-structure as far as Rosalia and Riddick could see. While they would require less repair than wooden houses, the attack of the creatures seemed to have brought many of them to shambles. At least any occupant wouldn't have to worry about being burned to death, though Rose couldn't decide if she'd rather be crushed or burned to death in that situation...

"Looks like we're in luck," Riddick said as they neared the building. Her ears just picked up the sound of shuffling feet and heavy thuds of people blocking the door with objects. Rosalia shook her head as Riddick smirked lightly to himself. The desperate attempt to block the door was a futile one if they both wanted in. "Ladies first." Must mean that he'd prefer for her to ask nicely before they barged in.

Sighing to herself, she stepped to the doors and knocked a tune out, a familiar human one. There was a pause of objects being piled against the doors, then someone returned the knock with their own, completing the tune back to her. With another knock, she waited for someone to yell.

"Who goes there?!" yelled a voice from the inside. From the sound of the woman's accent, she was heavily irish. And she was deadly with force from the sound of heavy chains. This made Rosalia smirk very softly to herself; she could take on chains and heavy scythes with no trouble in her opinion.

"Crash-landed travelers in dire need of information," she responded as she crossed her arms. There were muttering behind the doors from her answer. Then the woman responded back with a boast tone.

"How'd we know you ain't those creatures?"

"We can speak English for one, milady. For another, we do not look like those horrid creatures." As she said the last word her voice shook slightly, despite that she was calm. The image of that creature popped into her mind again.

There seemed to be an agreement behind those doors, and after a minute, the sound of scrapping objects were pulled from the doors at long last. Rosalia glanced over to Riddick, who nodded in approval and stepped up next to her. She almost would have feared that the inhabitants would have slammed the doors back in their faces once they had seen her companion. But that might have been under normal circumstances; these days, the only thing they'd slam those doors on would be the creatures.

They'd accept any help that involved defending themselves.

The woman sized them up as soon as the doors opened enough for her to step out. From her voice alone, Rosalia had guessed right about her appearance; she had frenzy red hair that reached her shoulders, though if it was straightened out, it'd reach below her shoulder blades. Her face was not slender, but it certainly wasn't pudgy either, that Irish trait Rosalia recalled from Old Earth. Her bright green eyes surveyed them in return, a critical look that eyed Rosalia's feet in question; she had forgotten to slide her boots back on, something she instantly regretted. But it slid by as she returned her eyes to the two faces. A hollow smile appeared on her lips.

"A crash, you say," was all she said as Rosalia quickly replaced her shoes before anyone else could see her paw-like feet.

"Would those things have anything to do with the devastation laid here?" Riddick tactfully asked. The shadow of fear that crossed the woman's eyes was enough to tell them both that it was. But they waited for her reply.

"They attacked with no warning," she said as anger replaced that fear. Motioning forward into the building, she turned to walk in. They followed as she continued. "A swarm of those small ships openly-attacked on any and all towns and cities they found. Though the forests and jungles offered no better protection, for they turned their attacks on the trees next." All around them were people tending to those injured and possibly near-death. Rosalia's heart pounded as she resisted the urge to go to those people and take away their pain. Besides, her headache just increased as she got close to all the hurt people, serving as a reminder that she was in a dire situation. She didn't need to be conked out by healing every single individual in that building, not when three of her companions were missing.

"Did they do anything after laying siege on your home?" Riddick questioned further.

"...they came down and grabbed any person they found." There was hesitation in her voice. When she finally turned, she seemed paler than usual. "Loaded them up in the ships to be taken to the larger ships. But... I've seen what they've done in order to fuel up their horrible ships." From the sounds of it, it was horrible. What had the creatures done?

"It was worse than when they attacked your home lands and burned everything to the ground?" Rosalia had to ask. The woman visibly shuddered as though recalling nightmares. It may as well, for Rosalia hoped to never see them herself when she finally explained.

"They took a single man from the group. I was fortunately hidden under a ruined tree trunk, far from the land site, but it didn't stop me from watching what they did." She rubbed her arms through the tattered remains of her shirt. "The things landed, and as though they were willed into do it, the people were staggering toward them. I don't know what the creatures did, but it seemed that one of their powers was to persuade their prey into willing victims. But as they loaded the townspeople onto the ship, one of the larger creatures pointed out one man from the group. The man instantly stumbled from the rest and walked into some cylinder container. I think by that point, the things released the control over the man, for his face fell from blankness to fear, and then the split-second of pain." She shuddered again as she closed her eyes as though to stop herself from seeing it happen all over again. "He literally exploded into nothing but a bloody mush... and the ship whirred loudly as it sucked up the remains..."

If Rosalia hadn't had been forcing herself from doing so, she probably would have ran out to throw up. Riddick grimaced, but that was all the reaction he showed. "So much for reasonable confrontation, if all they see of you is fuel and food," he merely said, his tone light. Rosalia couldn't yet tell of his thoughts, but she learnt at one point that if his tone was light, it was either comical to him, or he was close to being dangerous but kept it under strict control.

Something told her that the Necromongers would have been meek kittens compared with these things.

The woman eventually introduced herself as Loor, who recently had to take up the position as the leader of this small town. Rosalia figured that if it wasn't for her, all the town's remaining inhabitants would have scattered and come back later as scavengers of other ruined towns. She invited them to stay for the night, which they accepted under a condition laid out by another person; that they take their share of guarding the building. It was trivial work, and Rosalia would have told everyone that she'd take the whole night for herself. But she suspected that saying so would make her stand out more, and she'd rather be less noticeable. It was probably the same for Riddick.

"Lost friends, huh?" Loor said at one point when Rosalia explained further about their crashing. "And a kid to boot. Well, from what we've seen with the cloud-screamers - " ('cloud-screamers' was the term used to indicate the falling of objects, especially with ships and pods when they leave a trail of smoke or cloud) ", your friends should be somewhere way up north, into the Crystalize Territory." Loor spread her arms out as though indicating to the whole planet. "This world is a manufacture of crystals used in the hyper-drive industry." Loor fell silent, making Rosalia curious.

"There is something special in this Crystalize Territory?"

"Well... nothing special, but it's the aristocrats you have to worry about."

"The... aristocrats?" Why should they be of major worry? It didn't make much sense to Rosalia. After all, the word itself meant gentlemen and gentlewomen for the Old Earth.

"They avoided destruction by sheer force of money." Loor shook her head. "And they guard their lands fiercely. They don't give a shit 'bout us workin' folks; they rightly told those things, _somehow_, to have their pick of victims, as long as they leave them alone!"

No wonder going into Crystalize Territory would be dangerous, not to mention it was remarked with anger.

"And so we'd have to enter the lion's den," Riddick said when Rosalia shared this little insight with him.

"Hmph. More like walking into a fire dragon's den," she retorted as she rolled her eyes. "It would take a few weeks just to get to the border..." With a growl, she kneaded her forehead with a hand, trying to push the headache away. "What a world to land on..."

"Yeah, it doesn't help that people's hurtin' is painful to you." Riddick smirked as Rosalia looked up at him with surprise. "You seriously don't give me enough credit at times," he chuckled.

"Meh." Really, that was all she could think to say. It wasn't that she didn't give him the credit, it was just one of those things she doesn't think about mentioning. Nor does she actually give thought on. "Though I would think Ramza had a say on this particular part," she then remarked as she glanced back at him. He shrugged, but he didn't deny it. She smiled lightly as she uncrossed her legs to stretch them out in front of her.

"Any thoughts on how we're traveling?" he then asked, interested. After all, if she was by herself, she'd probably make the trip in just a few days, with her supposed speed and all. But she wouldn't leave him, for whatever her reasoning.

"Hoof it? I doubt there would be a vehicle that could be spared for our little adventure." Rosalia shrugged like it didn't matter. Maybe it didn't to her, which Riddick was good with; he'd hate a complaining companion that he would be with for maybe weeks. "I hope you do not mind walking," she added with a mischievous smirk.

"I'm more concerned of you keeping up," he retorted. "Your space ordeal might slow us down." Riddick chortled when she huffed.

"I will do just as well as before then, if not better." She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Though the way you implied, you would have to take pity on me and reluctantly take breaks."

"Maybe." That was all he said. She scowled at first, then shook her head lightly as she gave a soft 'ha.'

"We shall see by the following morning, then." It was like a challenge was issued. And hell, maybe it had. It was one way to look forward on the following day. Rosalia worried about Astor the most, but as long as he stayed with her friends, he and the others should be just fine.

She hoped, anyway.

By the time the sun finally risen over the horizon, Rosalia had only got a few hours of sleep. The same for Riddick, though they both obviously weren't going to sleep at the same time. They slept one at a time when their shifts were over, keeping an careful eye on the other people.

They gathered traveling supplies for the next few days, Rosalia having to pay for them by performing 'a miracle heal' on the people mortally injured. Luckily, her request to do it alone without witnesses was accepted, however grudgingly. By the time an hour passed, she was wishing that she had more sleep. She was shaking physically once she staggered out of the building and informed Loor that her companions were fully healed.

"Took you long enough," Riddick said with a smirk, his tone as one that he was kidding as Rosalia finally found him at the edge of town. She stuck her tongue out at him as a retort before turning to look at the town again. Loor was the only one that was there to see them off, and they preferred it that way.

"Let's just get going," Rosalia said as she waved once to Loor, then turned to start their journey.

"As you say, Lady of the Horn." Riddick chuckled as she rolled her eyes at him. It was time to find their crew. How they were getting off the planet was for when they found Astor and the others. Just one step at a time.

**Sorry for the delay of this chapter. I was ****very**** sick, probably with the mild case of bronchitis. Again, for the third time in a year. Still recovering, but you know, that doesn't stop me from writing. XD See ya at the next chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11

The traveling itself is a piece of cake. Maybe to a normal human woman, it would be tedious, but I have nothing to complain about in that general area. After all, I make my living by roaming the universe.

What I did find annoying was avoiding any lingering Shai'fores. And there were a lot of them... and they're hard to avoid. Often, we find out we were too close, and somehow their mental attack would be effective on me until they move on or Riddick had us far away from them.

Now, I wasn't as effected as possibly to the next guy (seeing as I didn't go wondering off toward the creatures like the townspeople had according to Loor), but somehow, I think Riddick is either immune or developed some sort of barrier against mental attacks. For the life of me, I couldn't even put one over the other; both seems possible and likely. Though where he's getting his humor from, that's the bigger question... Lesson One; don't start any more conversations with him when he's in a good mood unless I want to be harassed...

We suddenly seem to be back at square one when we learn that the Shai'fores and the aristocrats' ground troops were exceptionally thick at the Crystalize Territory. Just with that fact makes me think that we'd have to find a different way to find our friends...

**Disclaimer-Note  
**I don't own Riddick in any way.  
I'm better health-wise, but... -_**sighs**_- My cat/daughter Eclipse died on the day of my sister's death last year... I hate January 9th...  
This chapter will contain rape-attempt and bloody, gory details of death. You have been forewarned. XD;;

"Still not tired yet?"

"Seriously, you need to find a different topic to ask that does not involve the same question for the last fifty times."

"How 'bout this one; you're, what, twenty-to-twenty-two. Are ya still a virgin?"

"...How about we return to the original topic and never speak of this again." Rosalia's face burned red for once since they've crashed-landed on this planet. And Riddick laughed at the answer she gave. It was the third day since they've left the ruined town, and ever since Rose said that she'd do better than before she got spaced, Riddick had taken the time to actually annoy her. It was a great way to pass the time for him.

"So that'd be a yes."

"Do you enjoy making me uncomfortable..?"

"Only when I can." He chuckled again as she huffed to herself. "C'mon, you seriously that opposed to the nature of things?"

"I'm not commenting."

"Or is it that you haven't found someone you're willing to experiment with?" Her answer was to remain silent as her face grew even more red. "Maybe you scare the guys because of your oddity. That's a definite down-side to wings and horns."

"You must be really bored..." She listened as he chuckled, making her sigh. "And here, I thought you were the least-annoying person of the group..."

"You hadn't seen anything yet," Riddick chuckled. She rolled her eyes at him, though she seemed a bit distracted. Though she doesn't seem to notice that herself. After a minute of walking, he suddenly realized that he was alone. Looking back, he could Rosalia standing there, looking dazed. "Hey, what gives?" At first, he thought she was playing or something, but it changed to concern as she seemed to try to get her eyes to focus, but something was forcing her otherwise. He walked back to her, and it hits him of that feeling in the back of his mind that he ignored before. It was a mental attack, and while he could protect himself from it immensely well, it seemed that she can't do the same any time soon. _'Hmn, must mean one of those things are nearby...'_ Without another word, he grabbed onto one of the girl's wrists and pulled her along behind him, walking willingly without any sort of complaint. She was definitely under the influence of the Shai'fores, or at least one of them.

"Whoa, who turned on the lights..?" she said after twenty minutes of fast-paced walking, placing her free hand on her eyes like she was blinded. She almost sounded like she woke up from a night of drinking, her voice sounding that groggy. Blinking as she lowered her hand, she then looked confused; why was Riddick leading her by the arm? Actually, the real question of when, and why didn't she remember that happening. "Uhh, what happened..?"

"Nice to see you're back conscious," he replied as he slowed and then stopped. She halted as well, still looking confused. "One of those creatures must have been nearby, 'cuz you suddenly spaced. At least you didn't go walking out toward it."

She blinked. "I was affected? I _can_ get effected by them??" She must have thought that, seeing as she wasn't a human, she wouldn't be effected. Seemed to have brought her to reality, at least.

"Seems that way." He gave her a quick look-over, then dropped her arm. "Luckily one of us aren't going to get that way." He watched as she frowned to herself, apparently not liking the fact that she wasn't immune to the creatures. "Don't worry, I'll lead you away whenever it happens again." He smirked as she glared at him.

"You just made that into a real bad pun, I hope you know," she retorted as she stalked ahead of him.

"So negative." But he was laughing again, apparently still in a good mood. That made just one of them; the other was scowling.

The good mood died away during the next few hours that went by. They were finding that the Shai'fores were starting to increase in numbers the further they go. It was too much to hope that since the first two days that went by was free of the creatures would remain that way, in Rosalia's opinion anyway. At least she did what she could to avoid getting in range of the creatures, seeing as she quite remembered how it started to feel before she was completely effected; she went out of her way doing so, too, often leaving Riddick as she goes a long way around. Never gone longer than five minutes each time, but still gone often enough.

She'd rather do that than get effected and 'wake up' to find herself getting led around by Riddick like a lost puppy again.

"With all that extra running, you ought to be getting tired now," Riddick stated with only half his usual humor he started earlier that day, when she returned for the fifteenth time. It was already nearing nighttime. They'll need to find a place to camp out soon, considering that they had traveled the previous two days without any rest or sleep (out of Rosalia's stubbornness and Riddick's lack of getting tired).

"Yeah, well, it was either that or getting zoned out again," Rosalia grumbled at him. "That was not fun, just so you know..." Turning away, she pointed to a distant grove. "Over there happen to be free of Shai'fores, and they seem to avoid that particular place like it's plagued."

"Well, I hope it isn't going to plague us when we get there," Riddick said seriously as he started that way. "You just might come in handy yet."

"What, to purify your air and water?? Like I haven't been doing that on your ship since day one." Unexpectedly, she started to laugh, though she was trying not to. Riddick looked back at her, obviously curious of what was so funny. "Listen to me, I actually sound like some housewife." She laughed even harder, all the while stifling it behind her hand. But her body was showing how hard she was laughing.

Riddick gave a smirk of amusement as he continued walking. He knew how to make her change mood quick. "Laughing merrily can be the first step to getting laid at long last."

That killed her bubbly good mood. She glared suspiciously at him, even though he had his back on her. "You are _never_ going to let that drop, are you..?" His chuckle was her only answer. _'I never should have started any conversation with him... Why didn't I listen to that little voice in the back of my head?'_ Obviously, though, she didn't have any such thing telling her that beforehand. She could only shake her head wearily and follow Riddick to the hopeful campsite.

"Looks promising enough," Riddick commented when they arrived. It had the first sign of life trying to bloom back into existence; there was a sapling growing at a fast rate in the middle of the burnt clearing. If Rosalia didn't know any better, it would have been a mana tree growing there. "We'll definitely settle here until further notice."

"Keep saying that, and you will jinx us," Rosalia said as she rolled her eyes, though she started for the tree. It may be a sapling by its standards, but it was large enough for both of them to lean against it without damaging it. Sitting on the ground at long last, she resisted the urge to sigh in relief; her legs were cramping, though she wasn't about to admit that to Riddick anytime soon. Maybe she still had a bit to go before she could boast truthfully that she could outdo herself from before being spaced... and by this point, she was ready to sleep; she was still feeling that energy drain from before, when they exchanged her healing for supplies.

Riddick didn't bother about any fire either, since they'd only attract trouble. Sitting next to the female, he gestured wordlessly at her. Without even having to figure out what he wanted, she pulled off her bag and flipped it open to hand him some ration bars. Eating one herself, Rosalia found herself suppressing a yawn. The bar wouldn't supply enough energy like an hour of sleep would. With a sigh, she knew she had to concede defeat.

"Good thing we had not made any bet beforehand," Rosalia said once she swallowed the last bite of her ration bar, stuffing the wrapper in a pocket of her bag. Her comment made Riddick look over at her with an raised eyebrow. "I would have lost big-time."

"Have no energy like you used to, huh?" Riddick smirked as she rolled her eyes but nodded in confirmation. "Maybe I should have made a bet with you," he chuckled.

"Maybe another time." This time, she couldn't stop from yawning. "Wake me up in an hour or two." She moved away as she said that, laying on the ground, though she wished she thought about bringing out her wings beforehand. And maybe changing into her original clothes... As she started drifting off, she heard Riddick chuckle again.

"You look cold. Sure you couldn't use the company?" He said this jokingly, and as he expected, she responded in some way; she flipped him off over her shoulder, making sure to hold her thumb down, before it lowered back to the ground. Still chuckling under his breath, Riddick pulled his goggles up to his forehead to watch what's around them better. Though he believed them safe from Shai'fores, it wouldn't do to be caught unguarded.

- - -

_Rosalia opened her eyes to the scene unfolding before her. She was watching from a point in space as the ship that carried herself and her companions beginning to be shot at. Watching from the outside was strange, though what was stranger was that images floated around in the space around her as well. The humans of the world were either being blasted into nothing more than charred meat, killed in a landslide or flood that was caused by the Shai'fores' firepower, or were being gathered into groups with blank eyes. Her forehead ached as she watched, compelled; this was the first time that a planet was trying to communicate with her, even though she doesn't know that._

'_**What are you trying to show me?'**__ she thought, seeing as her mouth doesn't seem to want to work in this dreamworld. Immediately, the images shifted from the ship to when the pods were ejected. The Shai'fores went after the pods as soon as the ship exploded; one of the shots they fired destroyed the connection between hers and Astor's pods. Instead of traveling after the two pods, she found herself zooming after the remaining three by the images' will. The pods crashed into the ground below. High above the planet's surface, Rosalia could see ground troops in this particular area, surrounding a large castle-like structure. She guessed that to be the aristocrats of this planet. The images seemed to have been put in fast-forward; her companions were getting out of their pods just as they were surrounded by some of the ground troops... the three people were being taken to the castle for some reason, possibly to be questioned..._

_Her friends were just starting to be pushed out of the castle and loaded onto some carriage when the images were halted, then faded away fast. She seemed to be shot to where she currently was sleeping at. She was now looking down on herself, who was getting jumped and pinned by two strangers, while Riddick was starting to fight three others until one of them jabbed a gun point-blank in his face. Rosalia closed her eyes..._

...and opened them to stare up at her attackers. They were leering down at her as one had her hands pinned above her head, the other sitting on her stomach. The one on her stomach had just pulled her weapon belt off to toss it to the side when he noticed her with her eyes open. "Ta night jus' seem ta brin' such fine stuff," he said to the other guy as he roughly grabbed her chin and turned her head to one side and then the other. "Reckonin' on how much ta things'll pay for dis one?"

Rosalia was starting to get pissed, which started the silent growl in the back of her throat.

"Hell, we hadn't had a decent girly fer ourselves fer some time. How 'bout we keep dis one and sell up ta other?" one of the others surrounding Riddick offered, his gun still trained on Riddick's face. The other two around him nodded in agreement, grinning at one another as their guns were getting trained on their target.

That growl was turning from silent to low. Neither of the two on her noticed. "'Kay, I's likin' dat better," the one on her stomach said as he eagerly grabbed at her breasts. Her hands clenched tightly, her claws cutting into her gloves and into her skin.

'_How dare he...'_

"She _**really**_ doesn't like being touched," Riddick said with a slight smirk, knowing full-well that there would soon be an eruption. It would probably be the only warning these guys were going to get. The three around him laughed, one of them slamming the butt-end of his gun against Riddick's head.

"She'd like my touchin'," the leader replied with a lecherous smirk. With a jerk of his head, the three started to pull out rope to tie Riddick up as the man resumed to roughly grab at her chest and slide them down to her stomach.

'_**The mortal **__**dares**__** to touch us...'**_

So sure that he was safe of any kicks because he slid down to sit on her legs, he reached to push her tunic up. But her legs caught his attention, momentarily halting his progress as he examined the fur from the knee down. "Interestin' stockin's," he said like it was supposed to be a compliment. She obviously wasn't going to say 'thank you for noticing' as he slid his hands along her knees, trying to find a way to pull off what he thought was removable stockings. "Da hell they come off?"

As though in response, her boots twitched like she was curling her toes tightly inside. With a smirk, the man hopped off and kept a hold on her ankles with one hand. "Once I's get these off, I'll get ya real comfy-like." He looked up at the other men and smirked. "I's like quiet women, but they's no fun withou' a lil' screamin'." The men hooted, obviously agreeing.

'_**I'll kill them in the most painful way,'**_ Thornara whispered in the back of Rosalia's mind. And there was no resistant from Rosalia for once; she was past reasoning.

'_Make them __**beg**__ for mercy.'_

In the dark, the man over her head wouldn't notice that her eyes changed at liquid-speed from brown and white to blood-red and black, nor that her hair changed to black, as the man at her feet grabbed both boots, to yank them both off to not waste time. He pulled them straight off without as much as resistant as he thought there would. He tossed them aside and was reaching down to find what kept the 'stockings' on when he noticed that they weren't human feet.

"Da fuck??" he said in confusion. It didn't get to last, seeing as when he saw them, he lost his grip on her ankles. One raised in the air and sank all four extended claws into his guts, making him howl out in anguish. The man at her hands jerked back, but he found that her hands changed from clenching to sinking her claws into his wrists. He had but a second to realize that things just went south for them all as she used her other foot to fly over her body and plant it under his jaw. Her claws ripped at vital arteries and vocal cords as she used both her foot and her hands to throw the man over her into the other man. The impact had them both tumbling, which meant that the man with claws in his guts just lost what protected his inner organs. He screamed as he stared at his own digestive tract while Thornara leapt onto her feet, obviously enraged. There weren't any sign of having fun on her face.

"Told ya," Riddick said calmly, chuckling as the three men dropped what remained of the rope and raised their guns to shoot.

To Thornara, it was like they were swimming in molten lead as they tried to take aim. She was instantly on one closest, ripping his head off his shoulders along with a bit of his spine. The head had its mouth open like it was screaming as she threw it at one not able to take a shot, while grabbing the corpse and held it in front of her as the other fired off two rounds.

Panicking, the man tried to reload his gun as Thornara let go of the body and leapt at the other, who had reacted from when she threw the head at him and had dropped his gun to catch it. He stared at the head, horrified, as she landed in front of him and grinned horribly. Striking her hands forward, she had just thrust her fingers into his eye sockets as he had looked up at her. He screamed in agony as she ripped his own eyes out, cords and all, and, just for annoying her with his screaming, shoved them down his throat. He fell to the ground and started choking as she turned to the last man standing.

He was obviously losing what nerves he had, his gun shaking so hard in his hands. His mouth was moving, but all that was coming out was high-pitched sounds of fear. Thornara smirked malevolently as she moved slowly toward him.

"D-d-d-d-don't t-take an-n-nother step!!" he screeched, taking three steps backwards as he tried to aim his gun. All he got in response was a deep, dark chuckle from the girl as she rolled her shoulders slowly backwards a few times, then rolled her neck in one direction for one time.

"You have no idea of what's about to happen to you..." she said in a deliberately-slow voice. When she faked running straight at him, he fired both rounds in the hope to catch her full-on. Dodging long before the bullets left the chambers, she ran at him and caught him full in the chest with both feet. He screamed as he landed on his back, his hands clawing at burned roots as her claws sank right into his stomach before she crouched to drive both hands into his chest. His futile attempt to crawl away made Thorn laugh evilly as she gripped at the rib cage and ripped it open for the world to see. The man screamed louder than ever as he found that his arms were frozen with his fingers digging into the ground.

Tired of his screaming after a full minute, Thornara reached forward and ripped his windpipe out so that all he could get out were gurgles of blood. With a huff of displeasure, she stood and walked away from the last man, throwing the body part back to land in his chest. She was satisfied with her work.

Riddick shook his head lightly in amazement as she reached him and grudgingly cut the ropes from his wrists and forearms. "He seemed to have done a great personal wrong against you," he commented as he rubbed his wrists.

Thornara shrugged. "He hit ya," she said like it was the simplest reason to de-rib someone. She walked away to the man with eyeballs staring down at his stomach as Riddick stood up, his eyebrow raised. She sliced the man's throat, instantly killing him, though she looked like she'd rather let him live until he choked to death. "Besides, he was the one that suggested the idea first." She smirked at Riddick, then moved on to the remaining two men. The one that had claws rip into his jaw tried to crawl away, but she placed one foot on his back to pin him against the ground, then used the other to twist his head and snap his neck. Walking off his back, she glared at the last remaining man left alive. She didn't look quite as satisfied with the man just having his guts spilling out of his stomach.

"Allow me," Riddick said in a low voice as he walked pass Thorn. She narrowed her eyes for a second, then waved a hand; she wasn't going to deny him.

He crouched in front of the whimpering man, who was trying desperately to keep his guts inside. With his goggles still on his forehead before the jump, the man was staring up at Riddick's shimmering eyes that narrowed to mere slits. "Now, ambushing us was one thing," Riddick said, still using his low voice. "But see, you have pissed-off two of the most dangerous people in the known universe." He raised his blade as he said this. "Not a smart move."

"Ah... du... dun k-kill me..." the man said with a strained voice, his pale face growing even paler. If he was able to control his feet and was standing, he would have backed away as Thornara raised the black blade from her weapon belt she had just put back around her waist, standing just behind the man now.

"There's no chance of letting that happen," she growled down at him. She struck forward with her blade for the back of his neck just as Riddick did the same with his for the front. The blades met with a clash, and the man's head went tumbling to th ground. Looking immensely satisfied now, Thorn wiped the blade clean of blood, though she doesn't bother one bit to lick at any blood this time.

"I thought you love the taste of blood," Riddick said in a light tone.

"Not when it's the blood of vermin," she replied in a flat tone. She finished cleaning the blade and placed it back in its sheath. Thornara looked at him as he stood up, apparently weary of him.

"Do we have to repeat what happened the last time?" he asked slowly, obviously referring to back at Ursa Luna.

"What, no word of gratitude?" Thorn snorted as Riddick raised an eyebrow. "Kiddin', besides, I wasn't going to deny you of Rose, anyhow." She smirked as she looked to the corpses all around. "I had my fill for now."

"I'm surprised you're not going to give payback for last time," he said cooly.

"Meh, I keep tabs for later." She grinned evilly, winked slowly, then instantly, she was gone. The colors in her eyes and hair rapidly changed back, and Rosalia blinked after keeping her footing.

"That was... interesting," she said slowly, looking around at the clearing with a frown. Then she sighed to herself. "They had to interrupt my sleep..."

"They had me tied up and were in the process of raping you, and all you can think about is your nap." Riddick chuckled to himself, but when she shook her head, he looked curious. "I take it there's more than that."

"I happen to have seen them being taken to the aristocrats' castle, though before I could see where they were being taken to afterwards, the idiots jumped us." She crossed her arms and looked vexed. When Riddick raised an eyebrow in questioning, she sighed. "I do not know if the dream came from the planet itself, or if maybe Ramza can somehow project it (doubtful), but however it happened... We need to go to the castle to find out where they were being carted to."

"So they're prisoners?"

"It looks that way."

"How far is the castle again?"

"In the middle of Crystalize Territory... so it is still far-off." Rosalia made a face. "Watch as we get there and find out that Kiley and the others were carted to the other end of this territory..."

"Now who's jinxing us?" Riddick chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "We still have a long ways to go."

"Then you better get a nap for yourself." The girl then looked down at herself; she was covered in blood once again. She sighed. "I need to clean up..."

Riddick laughed openly as she scowled. "Yes, well, as you do that, I'll take that nap, but I'll be on the other side of the tree." He tilted his head to the gory scene before them. "Seeing as this part of the clearing is smeared in blood."

"Yeah yeah yeah..." Rosalia rolled her eyes again as she walked off for a possible stream that had yet to dry up because of the Shai'fores' attack. She heard him chuckle again; all the blood that was spilt, and he was still in a good mood. She can't be _that_ amusing to him...

As she walked off, Riddick watched her while he was still chuckling. She was one of the most enigma person he had ever known, and she was strong in many ways. Not to mention that it was pretty amusing to embarrass her once he found out that she _could_ get embarrassed. And like a female, the subject that would do the trick was of the sexual kind.

He doesn't remember anyone who could make him laugh in amusement like this one could.

**Ha ha, Riddick picks on poor Rosalia, but it was waaaay too funny to pass up. XD Woot to action, and soon comes more plus possible romance! See you all at Chapter 12!**


	12. Chapter 12

A lot of things can happen in a few weeks. Either it goes wrong or right. Truth be told, it was more confusing to me than if it went either way. I guess you can say that it went right for us.

The castle was immense in size and space. Probably because these guys were fat or large in numbers. Not all of them were large, but they were certainly lazy in many ways. In the other ways, I wish they were...

Complications arose, but I best keep my focus on one thing; getting back Astor and my companions. I'll deal with the rest of things later.

Maybe...

**Disclaimer**  
I don't own The Chronicles of Riddick in any way, shape, or form. Obviously, if I did, I'd probably continue the book series, lol. Anyways, enjoy Chapter 12! 'Cause it's rather random XD Have fun laughing.

"So that's the place, huh?"

"If it was not, I would think we would not bother stopping at all." Having traveled for two weeks with little incident (for a change), they had finally found their destination; a large castle-like structure, built for the aristocrats that sell the materials of their world. It may have been built originally for anyone and everyone, but power had a way to change things that way. Power and money, of course.

"No, I suppose not," Riddick said with a smirk. "Luckily for us, it's almost sunset."

"There is no knocking on doors this time, is there?" Rosalia glanced at him as he pulled his goggles up to his forehead. "No, I thought not."

"We're gettin' in, find out where they carted them to, then we're out."

"Yay for breaking and entering."

"Are you implying it's a bad idea?"

"Oh no. It only brings to mind of a hilarious comedian." Riddick had to look at her with an raised eyebrow, making her smirk. "Dane Cook's 'B and E' act. Though, I suppose he would not have thought of a castle as that to be broken in."

"Indeed. So why did he break in the house for? Money?"

"Nope, just to break down a door." She chuckled for once in many days. "In fact, he was so jazzed from kicking the front door down, he kicked the closet door down too before he ran away." As Riddick smirked in slight amusement, Rosalia turned back to the castle... and the hundreds of patrolling guards. "So how are we getting by all of them to kick this door down?"

"Oh, something a bit more practical is in order for this."

"Everything is bloody practical to you," she retorted, though with humor. "What is this 'practical' plan of yours, anyhow?"

"Patience, girl. Darkness is our friend, after all." She couldn't argue with that logic, seeing as they'll have the advantage over the guards down there. At least they wouldn't be fighting every single one, from the sounds of it.

"Just lead the way, oh mighty one." He smirked to himself, but he didn't make a remark to that as they both stayed quiet for the night to fall. As soon as the stars were barely showing, they moved out from the trees onto the grounds below. Luckily for them, it was easy to move through the guards, seeing as they were more relaxed during nighttime. Probably the only mistake they would make if they thought no one was stupid enough to sneak into their client's castle.

Getting into the castle was an different problem altogether. It seemed that those closer to the castle took their job seriously. What a shock for the convicts.

"_Goddess, and I thought breaking into a police station was tough..."_ Rosalia whispered to herself, though obviously, Riddick heard. He smirked as he pressed his back against the wall, debating on the best way in while remaining out of sight. The girl glanced up the wall for any clues. One presented itself to her, and it made her smirk. The wall was made to keep out ground-based people... _'One-way elevator, going up.'_ Grabbing onto the vine they had gathered some time ago for a similar job, she gathered her muscles and leapt up. If the wall was any higher, she'd probably had to use her wings, but it was luckily enough that it was low enough for her to grab onto the edge. Giving a glance around, she deemed it safe and hoisted herself up and turned to look down at Riddick. Tying the vine to the thickest support there was, she then tossed the vine down. A minute later, and Riddick pulled himself over the edge as well.

"Remind me to have you around more often for missions."

"Fuck that, when we get out of this, I am taking a vacation..."

"As long as you don't expect me to pay," he chuckled.

"I just might make you. Anyway, time to find a window or something. From there, I am turning this over to you." Shaking her head, she turned to the wall of the second floor. For a large structure, it had few windows, and all those windows were glassed. But there were large vent-like holes for breezes to be used to cool the rooms, which they used to enter the building.

"These people know how to live in lavish luxury..." Rose commented as soon as she could stand up in the actual room they ended up in. It was a storage room, which was pretty large for just a broom closet. It was probably the best place to hide out before they keep going for hopefully a record room. Pressing an ear against the door, she listened for a long minute for any noise. As soon as she shook her head no that there was no activity, Riddick pushed the door open effortlessly. It led out to a major hallway. _"Yeeaaaah, definitely spoiled aristocrats... I hate governments."_ Even the hallway showed just how much money they make, what with banners hanging in every corner and portraits of possibly every person that had been born, raised and died in that castle lined on the walls.

He rolled his eyes as he nudged her and tiled his head to one direction before walking that way. Following his lead, Rosalia tried to keep her senses open to anything. Her nose was telling her that the kitchens were busy preparing a large meal; her ears caught the sound of people enjoying themselves with a small party; her sense of feel indicated to maybe fifty people were in one large room, or at least in the same general area. The chances of running into one of the people in charge was pretty slim, but not impossible.

"This looks official enough for records to be stored," Riddick said as they came to a room with large double-doors.

"We better take a quick look-around," she replied. With a nod, he opened one door enough for them to slip inside. As soon as she got inside and turned around, she had to blink out of surprise. It was no mission, map or record room, it wasn't even a library; it was a bedroom that could hold five of the large beds, one in which was in the middle of the room. It was pretty empty except for furniture probably for any company that came for the occupant. And to her, it reeked with cologne, sweat, and probably other stuff she didn't want to know the names of.

"This ain't no record room," Riddick chuckled. She nodded in agreement and made to leave the room right away. But as soon as she froze in alert, he knew she heard company coming their way. Without a word of warning, he grabbed a hold of her and threw themselves into an open, empty trunk that closed just as the door opened. Rosalia had the sense to not make a sound of argument as they now found themselves trapped until the person or people left.

From the talking issuing outside the trunk, there were two people. Rosalia was confused of what they were giggling about occasionally, since all they were talking about seemed ordinary, but Riddick instantly knew and shook his head. _"What?"_ she said in a bare whisper, turning her head awkwardly to glance at him. She was laying on top of Riddick, so they were chest-to-chest. And with her straddling him by the waist, it made the situation all-the-more uncomfortable to Rosalia.

"_Something tells me that we'll be stuck in here for awhile."_ Rosalia raised an eyebrow, but didn't respond as possibly the man outside closed the door with a click of the lock. Soon, the two people were comfortable on one of the couches, chattering loudly. The sound of clinking glasses and the pouring of liquid came at one point, possibly liquor of some sort.

"So tell me about that water girl again, Ceru," the woman said in a flittery kind of voice.

"Water Elemental, my dear," the man said before taking a sip of his glass. "Said she crash-landed on the planet from an Shai'fore protocol. Well, she and two other strange company."

''_**Protocol'**__ my tail...'_ Rosalia thought to herself. But she was instantly intrigued, considering that these people were talking about her companions. So she was going to keep her thoughts to herself for now.

"That's why the Shai'fores wanted them?"

"So it seems." The man chuckled in some sort of amusement. "When the ground troops brought them here, why, I was surprised that the girl's hair was able to stay in a ponytail at all! It was like it was made of water."

"Now don't tell me you're attracted to her!" the woman laughed, but Rosalia could hear a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Of course not. After all, Elementals are a bunch of witches! The girl may have been attractive, but as soon as you turn your back on her, she probably would have turned you into water." From his answer, the female's response was to laugh in a slight-tipsy sort of way. Whatever they were drinking, it was stronger than wine.

"You personally interviewed them, didn't you?"

"Obviously." The sound of more liquor being poured came before he continued. "The young boy was crying for someone called Rosetta or however he pronounced it, so he wasn't much use to the interrogation. I had thought that the man would have been more informative, but he made it tough to get any sort of information. Even after we tried, ah, persuasion on him, he kept his mouth shut." Rosalia felt anger bubbling inside her, which made her growl silently to herself. Riddick seemed impassive to the deal, but he did respond to her growling by squeezing his arms lightly, since they were still around her torso from when he pulled her into the trunk with him. It managed to stop her growl without effort just as the man continued on. "Now the girl was an perplexity all her own. She refused to give any information of why they were shot down or of other possible crewmen that was on the ship and got separated from them. But she did talk up a storm." He probably shook his head by this point.

"About what?" the woman pressed.

"She was speaking of some sort of danger of the 'Cosmos,' though she didn't exactly specify on if this was a person or an event." Rosalia went very still at this point, making Riddick wonder lightly if she had just froze in cold sweat. "How the worlds will fall first to our possible allies, then the annihilation of every being in existence by the Cosmos. I'm sure it's all Elemental nonsense, just to scare us respectable humans."

"So where are they now, Master Ceru?"

"Oh, my brother Marcus seemed very interested in them, so I sent them along to his palace. I suppose when he's bored of them, he'll deliver them to either a village to work in the mines, or to the Shai'fores, since they seemed intent to have them soon. Whichever my brother choose works for everyone." He and the woman started laughing, which by this point, Rosalia stopped listening. The conversation led to other matters, so it wasn't much interest to Riddick either.

"_So what was your friend talking about?"_ he asked in a bare whisper. His question brought her out of her cogitation slowly, so she blinked at him after a few seconds. Then she narrowed her eyes at some inner conflict.

"_...Another time, when we are not trapped in a fucking trunk,"_ she replied with a sigh.

"_I dun know, it might be the best time, since we could be stuck here for a few hours."_

"_Why would you say that?"_ She turned her head to look at him again.

"_They're beyond tipsy from drinking, obviously, but their hormones work just fine."_ Rosalia was pretty lost on that explanation. At least until she heard the moans and the sound of clothes being pulled off in a hurry.

"_Oh God, you __**have**__ to be kidding me."_ She felt her face burn as the couple fell onto the bed with loud squeaking of springs, followed by their growing loud moans. _"What happened to them being so civilized??"_ Riddick silently chuckled at her reaction, which made her glare at him in turn. _"I'm glad you're amused, 'cause that just makes one of us..."_ When a scream of pleasure sounded in the air, Rosalia let her face fall against the man's shoulder as though it could make her loose hearing.

"_Think of it as having to sit through a porn show with friends."_

"_Oh shut up..."_ came the muffled reply.

The moans softened slightly, but it resumed as this Ceru enjoyed his time with his female partner. Rosalia basically blocked out all noise and went to a black world inside her mind, avoiding her own thoughts. For Riddick, he wasn't effected one way or another by the activity going on outside; besides, he was still curious of Kiley's words, and of Rosalia's unwillingness to answer his question.

"_Who or what's this Cosmos?"_ he attempted again after regaining her attention with another squeeze from his arms. She tensed again at the name. _"I'm not going to ask nicely again."_

In her usual defiance she just gained back, she raised her head to glare at him, her eyes bare slits. He didn't seem taken aback by the glare (as usual), so she let it go after a minute. Then she sighed in reluctant defeat. _"It is the name of a strange but... powerful man."_ She looked back at his impassive face, judging her words inside her mind. _"I do not know much about him, though. All I know is that it was he and his warriors that had killed my foster parents."_ She gave a small shrug like it happened all the time, though it obviously hadn't. _"I am not sure of Kiley's message, for it does not make much more sense to me. I only know of Cosmos being a 'who' instead of a 'what,' nothing else."_

Riddick doesn't reply as he pondered on her words. She looked away and wished that they weren't trapped in a trunk, where they had no choice but be in each other's company. At one point, she just feigned sleep, though she's pretty certain that it wouldn't fool Riddick. Of all the subjects out there, even the sexual kind, she doesn't want to even think of the name Cosmos. She supposed it's because, after all, the man that the name belonged to was the center of her nightmares since childhood.

She'll get payback someday, she had vowed it to herself the day of her parents' death.

At one point, the noise outside died to nothing. It was the one thing that had caught Rosalia's attention. Forgetting that she was pretending to be asleep, she raised her head in a hopeful manner, listening hard. She groaned silently when the sounds resumed at a slow pace, which made Riddick silently laugh.

"_They cannot have enough energy for another round..."_

"_You'd be surprised by how long one can keep goin',"_ Riddick replied in a nonchalant manner.

"_Let's just either kill them or knock them out..."_

Now Riddick had to look at her. It was a thought that, while it was a wistful hope, he knew she couldn't do. Not when the people were doing nothing more than what nature intended between two of opposite sex. _"You realize that if we did either, we'd have a army after us. Shai'fores are difficult enough to avoid, so do you really want to add in the human factor?"_ She rolled her eyes in response, making him chuckle again. _"You'll only make yourself miserable if you continue to pine on the situation. Think of something else."_

"_Like what..?"_

She meant it as sarcasm, obviously. But he smirked in an almost malicious manner. For once since they became trapped in the same trunk, Rosalia was afraid of him. _"I'll give you one."_ One arm tightened before she could think about just pushing the lid off the trunk and run. His other arm moved from her back slowly to her shoulder, then her jaw line, tracing along it in a deliberate-dragging pace with the hand. Tense for what she thought was a fight, it turned to uncertainty as she felt his hand brushing along her jaw toward her ear. But as soon as Riddick felt the difference of tension, he slid his hand to the back of her head and pulled her forward, claiming her lips with his. She froze in shock, making him smirk again.

Feeling that smirk, Rosalia narrowed her eyes. Then, before her rational mind could intervene with her conscious, she bit his lower lip. That made him drop that smirk of his, which was what she wanted to accomplish. She figured that she shouldn't allow him to think she was _**that**_ innocent.

Deciding to take that bite as an incentive, he gripped her hair tightly and used her silent gasp to thrust his tongue inside. Since she hadn't been chewing gum for the last few weeks, she didn't taste like spearmint like he half-expected; instead, she was sweet like fresh berries mixed with sugar, the closest thing he could describe it. Well, whatever it was, it was quite a pleasant discovery.

Without thinking, she met his kiss with her own. The back of her mind noted that he tasted much like blackberries and cinnamon. So when he just as suddenly ended the kiss, she had to take back control on her thoughts. _"Now you're preoccupied with another thought,"_ Riddick chuckled. She wanted to glare, but she'd rather not give him another chance, so she merely turned her head away. He brought his hand out of her hair and laid them to his sides, just to be nice, though not before dragging part of her hair to her shoulder to breath in the scent; one of those animal things he does in habit.

She seemed indifferent to his attempt to be 'nice,' but it's only that she's not going to openly comment on it. Not to mention that past her mind working overtime, she was back to listening for complete silence in the outside world. So as soon as she heard snoring, she opened the trunk cautiously at first, then pushed it open and climbed out without a word. Though she didn't take off; she stood away from the trunk with her nose wrinkled, trying to not cover her nose and mouth.

Riddick, unperturbed with what was Rosalia's problem, opened the door after unlocking it. Motioning to the girl to move through, he waited until she was out before he did the same and closed the door back. He probably could have locked it again, but he figured that the couple would come to the conclusion that, because of their drinking, they forgot to lock it.

"C'mon," he said quietly, heading down the hallway with her right behind him. They returned to where they came in and went outside the same way. Getting out and down was probably the only trouble, but it didn't match to being stuck in a trunk, so neither had anything to complain about. When they were almost to the forest though, Rosalia stopped and turned around, gazing at the place with a thought. "What?"

"I am sorely tempted to go back..." When he didn't answer, she turned back around with a faint smirk. "I want to tape a sign to their door 'We heard what you did last night,' just to freak them out."

Riddick shook his head both physically and mentally. "Been trapped in a trunk and almost got kissed senseless, and all you can think of is a practical joke. You're a strange woman."

Returned to that strange thought, she raised a hand as though to flip him off; though, with restraint and the thought of not wanting to tempt him, lowered it back down and stalked off. She heard him laughing at her reaction, making her sigh to herself. Maybe she should stop talking altogether for that night...

Still chuckling under his breath, Riddick followed as he thought back to the conversation. Now they're hunting for this Marcus person, who probably had his own large portion of property somewhere. Shouldn't be that difficult, not for him. Just because they don't have a vehicle to get around, doesn't mean that they can't make just as good distance.

After all, unlike the beasts that pulls around the carriages, both convicts could go for days without sleep or rest.

**Go ahead and comment how you liked that XD; Throw them at me! I'd love to hear 'em as I work on the next chapter. Ta ta~**


	13. Chapter 13

From what we learned in the castle, we had our real destination in reaching our companions. I don't know what we should expect, but at least that this new place isn't that far from Ceru's castle, being on the same territory. There are few villages here, but it's to be expected; being on the aristocrats territory wouldn't be pleasant to live on.

As for what happened back in that castle with Riddick... I remain confused on what led to that. But in a way... it was nice, just unexpected. I may not be human, but it seems I can feel just as much as anyone...

Focus on the mission, Rosalia, focus... I cannot get sidetracked. Not when I have another obstacle in our way. Though the question remains is that will I actually be able to stop myself from getting sidetracked for awhile?

**Disclaimer-Note  
**I don't own anything of Riddick, seeing as I haven't written the books nor directed the movies. Have fun reading! And pardon my absence... the drama continues here where I live... -Sighs- I wish it doesn't. So to make up my absence, I made this chapter a little... special. ;D If you read that part, let me know if I did alright for being my second lemon, lol.  
**Warning::** Will contain the probably long-awaited scene where our two anti-heroes/convicts finally give in to the inevitable. Will place warnings where it starts and ends for those not into such intimate scenes.

Pushing past the bushes, Rosalia growled as she glared at the retreating figure of Riddick; he was making good time through the plants like they were nothing. She damned the fact that she was light in frame and thus had a tougher time pushing through fern-like plants like a soldier. "This is becoming tedious..." she said mostly to herself as she leaped up and grabbed a branch, swinging over a particularly large clump of bushes, avoiding them altogether. "We have been in this damn forest for the past few days, where does it end?"

"Complaining?" Riddick called back at her, smirking - they finally found a breaking point for her. "C'mon, I'm sure that this is nothing to you. Why don't you just go above and see how close we are to the edge?"

"Yeah yeah..." Rosalia jumped to the branch above, then easily made her way up to the very top of the tree. She was still surprised that this forest hadn't been burned down like the rest. Taking a deep breath as she got to the last branch, she looked around; not quite two miles away was the edge of the forest at last. But she smelt smoke, and there was none in that direction. Was it a campfire from somewhere, smoldering? Shrugging to herself, she took the shortest way down by leaping off, landing with somewhat ease. She supposed that it was because they haven't bothered resting much that day, though they'll soon find a spot to camp. "Two miles straight ahead. Unless the forest suddenly sprouts trees as soon as we get there..."

"Unlikely, seeing as you're not there to do it." Riddick chuckled as he turned back to the front. "You might as well get over here, there isn't as much brushes to deal with." He brought his goggles back to his forehead, seeing as the sun was about to set once more. Besides, the shadows of the forest was dark enough to let him remove the goggles for the whole day if he wanted to.

Grimacing, Rosalia strode over and then took the lead, stretching her arms over her head as she went. Truth be told, she sometimes felt awkward around Riddick as of late; it didn't help that he kept bringing up about that kiss back at Ceru's castle. She didn't know what to think about it, and so did what she does best - ignore it and focus on something else until later. "I keep smelling smoke..."

"So I'm not the only one. I'm about to conclude that the Shai'fores are finally getting around to burning this forest down." Taking a stride to be by Rosalia, he walked easily in the shadows of the forest. It'd be a shame for these trees to be burned down. "Think the rich folks will raise an uproar?"

"Yes, and then they will be gunned down, realizing too late that Shai'fores are horrible allies."

"So cold. They really rubbed you the wrong way, huh? Dun worry much about them; we're getting off this hellhole of a planet."

"I know. Save that for a girl that clings to anybody with muscles, I do not need reassurance." Rosalia smirked as she glanced over at Riddick, who laughed at the response. At least she hadn't lost her ability to retort with this man, and that was better than being awkward, something that she didn't like with someone she had known for some months now. She supposed that'll pass soon enough, so she'll continue being herself. "Think you have energy to run?"

"The question is do you have the endurance?" Riddick took off without so much as a warning, and Rosalia simply made light work in bursting into speed. They easily matched each other while they dodged trees and neared the edge of the forest, taking not even twenty minutes by their speed. Now was the difficult part; figuring out the way to Marcus's castle.

Her nose itched and her eyes stung as the smoke seemed to grow stronger. Slowing down to a halt, Rosalia turned to look back at the forest now that they were outside the shadows and have reached the dusk light of open air. The smoke was finally rising in thick clouds, but the flames that would come before the smoke wasn't visible. As the fire seemed to spread, she felt her head pounding with a headache, making her wince. "Seems to have begun..."

"Hm." Riddick noticed the distance between the two of them and halted as well, glancing back. "No point watching, girl. We should reach that town before the sun disappears from the sky completely."

"What is the point in worrying about that? We can see better in the dark anyhow." Rosalia frowned as she turned back. Though it answered before she even got an answer, seeing as she felt that strange empty feel that happens when Shai'fores were approaching in ships, though it was so faint that if she wasn't used to it, she'd have missed that sure sign. "Fine. Whatever. Then we are not stopping for anything else." Taking back to the fast run, they went on in silence, Rosalia finally starting to feel the strain of the long days of no sleep. But she pushed herself to go faster, bypassing Riddick by a good few feet, her arms simply behind her for balance since she bent forward for the run unlike the standard pumping that helped others keep balance and stay in rhythm.

The town was in no better shape than the one they had first came to on the first day since crash-landing, though the one thing it had more of was survivors. Apparently Shai'fores were still abiding by the agreements with the so-called aristocrats, if only for now, so those on the Crystal Territory were safe. But if they were burning the large forest, it should be only a matter of time before they went after the people of both rich and poor. But for now, it was safe enough, and that was enough for Riddick as they entered the town. Everyone were holed away in their homes or stores. The fear of being stolen away was thick in the air.

"How quaint..." Rosalia slowed to a walk, her sides stitching. It seemed there was someone to greet them, though not in a very friendly manner seeing as the man had a gun in hand.

"What're you doing here, ari?" he growled out. Glancing down at herself, she supposed that her own clothes, being purple, made her seem rich. It may explain why he thought she was an aristocrat. Frowning she returned her gaze at the man just as Riddick walked up beside her.

"We're not any sort of aristocrat, just passin' through," he said in his gravelly voice. The man didn't look convinced, but he allowed them to pass by while he continued to gaze at them distastefully. "Imagine what he would have thought if he knew a few things about you," Riddick said to her with a small smirk. She merely shrugged with one shoulder. Rosalia was more intent on listening to the conversations going on around them, wanting to hear tidbits on possible hints of where the others were at. Noticing this, the man merely led the way to a building that looked like the inn of the town. "I think I'll get us checked in."

"You do that." Pausing a brief second to watch the man walk into the inn, Rosalia then continued on, thinking about checking around the small town on the outside proximity. It may be small and probably going to be nothing interesting to see outside any more than inside, but she's still going to see. The people gave her suspicious glances and stayed on their doorsteps or across the streets. Not that she cared, it kept them out of her hair, even though a few she wanted to approach due to seeing an injury or heavy sadness on their faces. She had to keep a check on herself, for she would disregard the fact that they were trying to not draw attention if she wasn't aware of trying to heal.

Easy grace led her to the other side of the village and then out, glancing around. The landscape was barren of much life, though she wasn't sure if it's due to the planet being a mining industry or because of the current invaders. The trees in the distance were becoming scarce, which would make the one she and Riddick came through to be thick of life. Or what's left before the Shi'fores destroyed it. Such needless destruction... she didn't know why the things were doing it, either. Maybe she couldn't understand it because of whatever she was. Though... that didn't stop the one that allied himself around the murderer of her foster parents...

"You should have watched your back," was the only warning she got as she was suddenly attacked from behind, her spine on fire from a solid blow. Turning around, she tried to find her attacker, but all that she found was a short blast of black energy flying at her, catching her by the stomach. Stumbling backwards was all it did, but it did hurt, a lot.

'_Fuck, why of all places did he have to come here?'_ she thought as she cursed herself for not being more alert. Of the times that she was cautious for an attack, this came when she wasn't for the first time in months. "Coward, show yourself!" Rosalia growled out as she started to pull out her weapon. Didn't get the chance as a hand came from the shadows and brought her down to the ground by the throat. Her weapon slid from her hand from the momentum and landed several feet away from her and the familiar assailant on top of her. Silver locks of hair flowed over the man's shoulders as he leered down at her with a smirk, blue eyes showing nothing but despise toward her. His left wing was that of a silver feathered one, but it was out-shined by his right wing, which was golden and formed in the leathery shape of a bat or dragon. What made him similar to the girl and Ramza was the horn, but it was ebony-black and actually zig-zagged once up, giving it two sharp points, as well as an black tail that could related closely to a cross of a lion and wolf.

"Close enough?" the man known as Malshano said as he squeezed his hand on her throat, where the collar wasn't protecting the vital windpipe. Air became scarce with every second, and Rosalia was fighting with the arm as she clawed at the thick sleeve that protected the flesh. "Not such a coward, am I? Finally found you after several months hunting for clues, girlie." Just for emphasis on the hunting part, his hand closed even tighter on her neck, making her see dots before her eyes and her head pushed back from the force.

If it wasn't for a blast of energy that came from the direction of the village, Rosalia would have probably had a crushed windpipe if squeezed even tighter unless she finally acted and did something to get him off herself. It took Malshano completely by surprise and crashed him against a tree. Gasping for air and each breath burning her throat like it was acid instead, Rosalia rolled to her side and started coughing. Eyes closed for a long time, she wasn't that much aware of the oncoming attack between her attacker and her rescuer. Only when she felt a brush of air from above had her in a crouching position and almost ready to attack Malshano herself. She wasn't surprised to see that it was Riddick that had came to rescue, though while it meant she was in further debt to him than she ever had to anyone, she was rather thankful he came to find her situation. But this was for the first time that she had ever seen him pissed like this. Ramza spoke of how he looked back on planet Aquila Major with the store keeper that set her up to be shipped to Ursa Luna, but she wondered if he was even more-so for this time than the other. His eyes were for no one else but her enemy, and their steely-glare made her want to shiver in fear if she allowed it. With the blades flashing, Malshano was forced to deal with Riddick with his katana and short sword he carried, to block the oncoming attacks.

"Suddenly into bodyguards? That's unlike you," Malshano spat out as he forced back Riddick and had a chance to glare at the girl like it was her fault for bringing someone along with her to anywhere. Perhaps it was unlike her to join up with anyone, but he was far from getting it right that she hired Riddick out for protection. And by this point, she was back in mind about fighting and had her weapon back in hand, so she jumped straight into the fight and had Malshano to fight to stand where he was. The double-ended sword was at full extend and she was flashing back and forth between his two swords, forcing him to take a few steps back rather than take his stand, finding a firm stance to strike back. As soon as Rosalia leapt away though, Riddick had dark Furyian energy and something else blasting at the silver-haired man. Neither were giving the man a chance to use any other underhanded attacks he would have otherwise used.

Riddick was obviously an advisory to beware of in even a fair fight, or unfair if you brought a large number of people to fight just him. In this particular moment, it made her realize that she was glad to have him on her side, however the tolerance they seemed to have. It was soon after ten minutes of blade-clashing and energy blasts of either sides that it forced Malshano to think twice about sticking around. He finally made a good long-distance leap away from the both of them, landing on a branch of a dying tree and glaring at the two of them before smirking. Despite injuries he received, he hadn't lost his sense of superiority. "This isn't over yet," he said before he seemed to suddenly split into ten parts of shadows, disappearing as Riddick sent one last attack just to send the point across.

"Talk about persistent." From anger to steel-cool calmness, Riddick had sheathed his blades and turned his shimmery eyes on Rosalia. She had already sheathed her weapon and was wincing as she tried to rub her throat. Making a sound like he was annoyed with the whole thing, the man came to stand next to her and lifted her chin to glance at her throat. He may only see heat signatures in most part, but the hand print was currently standing out as a 'hot spot' to him. Probably ruptured blood vessels from how tight the strange being had on her neck, an imprint just above her collar. How painful. "Can't do anything about that, I'll assume," he said in that same flat but gravelly tone he was using. Rosalia shook her head; there wasn't much she could do if her horn couldn't reach places.

"It will fade away in probably a few days instead of staying as a bruise for a week," she muttered as she pulled away and winced again. She sighed. "Malshano has quite the timing..." Without waiting for a word on that statement, she was already walking back to the town, pride injured. At least Malshano had to leave with a wounded ego as well as injuries that he'll remember. For some reason, his horn was unable to heal like hers and Ramza's could do without effort. That alone made her feel slightly satisfied in the retribution she made on him for the sneak attacks he had on her.

There was one room that was available in the inn, and as soon as she found the right room Rosalia had taken to laying down on the floor, eyes closed as she tried to ignore her throbbing windpipe. It seemed that Riddick wasn't going to come inside for a little while, and she thought that perhaps it was a good thing. It was bad enough that someone sneak-attacked her when she had her guard down, probably insulting to have the rescuer possibly rubbing it in her face. Shit fuck... _'I need to get out of this damsel in distress crap,'_ she thought to herself as she closed her eyes, not realizing she was going to become unconscious in only a few minutes.

Meanwhile with Riddick, he was simply contemplating about the situation. Not only were they searching on little clues for their companions, now they had an attacker that had personal business with his (close?) companion. All the crap he had to put up with as a loose convict, and yet he found someone that had what seemed to be half the universe after her instead. How fucked up that was, he thought. Then he wondered briefly if the anger he showed for the second time to the account on the girl meant that he had indeed came to like her a little more than a mere fellow comrade that he had everyone as to keep the distance from them. This could prove to be problematic for him, though admittingly she drew the attention to her like flies to honey for who she was rather than because she was connected to Riddick. Strange to have to remember that. _'Can't drop her off at a planet to keep her safe, not with people like that,'_ he thought to himself as he brushed the tip of his smallest knife under his left thumbnail, scrapping away dirt. Once upon a time, he thought that would have kept someone he cared for safe. But in many ways, it didn't work the way he hoped. Everyone had a way of dying on him like that, even though that one person had done everything she could to be an ultimate killing machine like him. That was Kyra, though even now she was still considered Jack to him. Hard to break habits like that, he realized. And a habit he had recently picked up was the urge to protect his comrade, even in her own fights.

Returning to the inn at long last after some time to think, it was already nightfall on their little section of the world. And it seemed that his time away, the girl had found a catnap to nurse her injuries. Even curled up on the floor, the mark on her neck was visible and vivid. It made Riddick yet again want to beat the living hell out of that strange man, who was so uncharacteristically unlike anything of her or even Ramza. He attacked for pure spite and fun, despite that it would (according to the Yameko standards anyway) hurt him just as much. Must have been one of these 'warriors' he heard about back in the trunk. Though yet it didn't surprise Rosalia, merely irritate her after having half the life choked out of her. Yet another example that there were beings as dangerous as he was without even copying.

Stirring lightly in her sleep, the girl merely curled up further into a ball. A bed, and yet she took to the floor. Typical. Shaking his head, he lifted her up easily and deposited her on the bed against the wall. Just couldn't stand having to watch his feet to not step on someone. Not that he had to watch out for her, but he wanted to. Without a hint of embarrassment he sat on the edge of the bed and stripped his shirt off and then his boots. He felt grimy from the everyday sweat and blood, which may mean it's time to enjoy a shower. Apparently that thought was out in the open because he felt a nudge in the small of his back, turning his head to see the girl wrinkling her nose lightly as she looked at him. Must have woken up from the transfer, though admittingly he hadn't tried real hard to keep her asleep. "You're not a field of tulips yourself," he said with a smirk. She rolled over with a muffled, "Bite me," as an answer. He could have left that well enough alone, but he leaned over her and trapped her figure beneath his torso even though she could escape from him. "I'm sure that you could use a shower yourself. So you'd rather have warm water or cold depending on your answer?"

"Like I really care either way, for if you had not noticed, a cold river never bothered me." Restraining a blush from showing, Rosalia turned her head to look up at him with an raised eyebrow. The action alone made her wince, in which had Riddick glance at her throat and could see that it had remained pulsing in heat for the moment. "Go ahead and use all the hot water if you wish."

"Hmn. We still have something to talk about now that I've got to be acquainted with your 'friend' and you're not going to duck out of it either." Without another word he got off the bed and was about to head for the shower, surprising Rosalia from the abruptness. Deciding to just get it over with, she grabbed onto his arm to get his attention.

"Just tell me what you want to know," she said as he looked back down at her with a strange look. But she seemed to have gained his attention, because he sat back on the bed and even returned to trapping her with his torso. "You know, you do not have to do that."

He ignored it. "That Malshano character seems to have more despise for you than simply just an ally of someone that killed your family." When she only blinked, Riddick decided to keep going with that line of thought. "What's the beef between the two of you? After all, from my point of view he's whatever you and Ramza are. Not much of a pacifist when he's out to kill you."

"The problem with answering is because I do not know what he has against me personally." Rosalia frowned as the man didn't seem to take her word for it. "First time we met eyes was when he full-blown went insane, trying to kill me. You met him on a good day. Only conclusion I can make is that I remind him of someone, for he seems to look past me at some ghost on occasion."

Mulling that over, Riddick stared down at her, making her feel like they were back in that trunk, just reversed of who was where. He suddenly smirked. "So you're definitely not an ex of his or something."

"Hell no!" Utterly taken aback by that statement, she raised herself by her elbows and glared. "Why would you care about him being some crazed ex? It is a bit unlike you to ask."

"Happens when you get attached to someone."

"Thought cold-blooded killers do not get attached to anything other than their weapons." That smirk of his didn't falter, which she recalled was what happened just before he kissed her those days ago. With that thought in mind, no wonder that she was weary of him making a move and so wasn't surprised when he leaned forward until he was a mere two inches from her face. What was surprising was that his eyes were actually looking into hers as he seemed to be considering her comment quite seriously.

"Think of it this way, from any convict's point-of-view; you're, in your own right, a weapon. And I got attached to such a weapon." He came even closer to her, almost touching lips with hers. "Can't have any complaint about that, can you?"

"...not really, no." It was all she could think of saying, if anything at all. Riddick closed the distance and laid his lips against hers. It only lasted for five seconds but it was enough to make her heart pulse faster. "Back to this, I see..." At least she managed to say anything at all, she supposed.

"Heh, you don't have anything to complain about as far as I've seen. Not attached to either of your species' males in a way that would otherwise have you resisting. And in many years, you're the first woman that had caught my attention in a lot of ways. Doubt you're easy to get killed." The last statement seemed to come with conflicts, for something unreadable passed through his shimmery eyes, barely noticeable if she wasn't paying attention.

"If I was easy, I would have been killed a long time ago." That seemed to be enough for the man, for he hungrily crashed his lips against hers once more, his weight on her making her roll onto her back. All she could do was respond back to his kissing and wrap her arms around his torso. She had no more thought from there about what or why Riddick needed to hear that she wouldn't be easy to be killed; all she wanted was his presence.

**Starts here**

Directing her onto her back easily, he crawled onto the bed completely while never leaving her lips. He licked her lower lip in a slow way, making her open her eyes as he did it again, silently demanding for access. Rather than let him take the dominance, she waited until he did it once more and then her lips parted as she darted her tongue out to touch his. It was what he wanted as he slid past hers and kissed her more than he had back at the castle, and to feel her respond just as hungrily had him realize that he was burning for her more that night than he had for over the last few weeks. A hand of hers slid down his back, serving only to make him feel aroused. She had no idea what her unconscious gestures were doing to him. Pulling out of the kiss after so long, he bit her lower lip before traveling along her cheek to her ear, his sharp hearing catching the sound of her racing pulse as she tried to breath more regular rather than gasp for air. He roughly kissed that pulse as he brought his hand up and started to slowly explore from her side to her firm stomach. That had her shivering slightly, making him smirk against her skin. She may be new to this, but she was quite responsive. Moving his lips to her neck, he proceeded to kiss down it along to her collarbone, very careful of the bruise that was only now beginning to fade a little and was sure it was still hurting. Bypassing the collar that kept her disguise in check, he flicked her skin with his tongue and could hear a sharp intake of air.

Opening her eyes enough to watch him move from her lips to her neck, Rosalia found it was becoming difficult to breath properly. He proved that point when he came to her collarbone and just briefly touched her skin with his warm tongue, making her involuntarily take a gasp of air. Swallowing lightly, she felt his hand slowly roaming the planes of her stomach through her single piece of clothing, though while his artful fingers were tracing along the curves of her hips, he kept himself from traveling any further either way. _'Two can play this game,'_ she found herself thinking as she brought her hands from around the back of him to his sides, drawing her hands along his bare skin. It seemed to catch his attention entirely, his hand had stopped traveling on her body as he became still. Taking it as a sign that he wanted more of the attention, she brought her hands to the front of him and continued to follow his defined muscles to his chest. She couldn't even feel any hair among his smooth skin, remembering that most men had hair on their chests.

Riddick interrupted her exploration by biting that spot where the neck meets the collarbone, making her gasp out loud this time, a shudder going through her body. "Let me give you better pleasure," he said in a husky voice, at the same time bringing his hand up to gently cup her left breast. Instead of those times that any man tried to force themselves on her (and failed), it brought to her the promised pleasure instead of discomfort. It unconsciously made her arch a little into his hand, eyes closed as he flicked his thumb over her covered nipple, making it harden. "Imagine what else I can do for you," he murmured while he continued to knead her mound, finding that it wasn't too small nor too big but just perfect for his hand. Most women make it their ultimate goal to have the biggest bust, especially in the brothel industry, but it never aroused him to see such large breasts, always reminding him of overinflated balloons. The woman beneath him though had a beautiful pair, and the only thing between her skin and his hands was the tunic she wore.

Moving back onto his knees that were on either side of her legs, he slowly drew both his hands from her torso to her lower abdomen, caressing and rubbing just below her stomach, knowing this particular spot could bring almost as much pleasure as playing inside her walls if done right. The effect had her moaning softly, making his growing length throb in anticipation. His hands moved to her legs, brushing down from her thigh to her knee, where the fur was light and short until one moved past the knee to the shin. This was something he wondered if he would really hate when he first started having thoughts about having her like this, having never forgotten that she had white fur with speckles of black spots from the knees down. The fur was soft and light, and he hardly felt it beneath his hand even when he rubbed it the other way; it was almost like velvet. _'Her body has just as much surprises as her personality and mind,'_ he thought as he looked up at her face while his hands moved to the edge of her tunic, gripping the hem and tugging it up to almost the top of her thighs. She had opened her eyes when she felt the movement but was looking at him with a quizzical look rather than in defiance he expected from her past experiences with other men. "It only gets better," he told her as he started inching the tunic up to her hips, then past once she bit her lower lip and hesitatingly raised her hips to make it easier; in the same moment he also removed her panties. He stopped moving his hands as his eyes traveled down her form to the soft curls that was trimmed in a V shape, and below was her bare nether lips; from the scent of her arousal, he knew that she was already moistened down there. Because of his eyes though, all he could see was that she was warmer there than almost anywhere else on her body. It all served to make him want to taste her.

Feeling him stop moving altogether, she glanced back down again to see that he was focused on the spot between her legs. Swallowing from feeling nervous, she wondered exactly what was going through his mind, and was almost about to form a question when he put one of his knees between her legs as to start spreading them. She easily did for him as he moved further down, though before she could ask what he's about to do, he had already taken control by licking the warm folds around her entrance. "Oh Goddess!" she whispered without meaning to, eyes closed tightly as she arched her back, feeling him move a hand beneath the small of her back as he continued his assault on her. Her stomach was starting to form a knot inside as he pushed his tongue inside her entrance, making her whimper from the intense pleasure.

Skilled and knowledgeable, the man thrust his tongue inside her cunt, the taste of her making his head swim and her moans driving him on. But just as suddenly as he started his assault, he stopped and moved up, his hands dragging the tunic roughly over her head before she realized it. Then his face was before hers, kissing her deeply as she tasted herself in his mouth. A part of her mind had suddenly risen to the challenge, her hands moving to his hips. She felt him moan into her mouth as she moved her right hand to the front of his pants, feeling a hardness that she realized was his cock. The knowledge made her blush deeply without meaning to, but she decided to keep exploring. Her other hand moved to join the first and she drew them down along his length then back up. Riddick encouraged her on as he moved to her chest, tracing his warm tongue around the top of her right breast before taking it into his mouth to suckle. Without even thinking about it, her hands unbuckled his pants and slid a hand to wrap around him and trace her claws along it, feeling him throb in her hand. He used his teeth on her and growled from the sensations she was causing along the sensitive skin; for someone that had no experience, she was driving him crazy.

As a man of surprises, he had decided he had enough teasing from the woman. He pulled away and had stripped off his pants. When she noticed this and got her first look at what she was playing with just a moment ago, he chuckled as she quickly looked back up at his face; even though she had no one to compare him to, he was quite large. "Don't get embarrassed so long after this started," he murmured as he moved back on top of her, kissing her in an warm and sensual way that had her moaning again. A gasp left her when a hand traveled down and touched the nub of her clit with a finger. In the back of his mind, he realized that he was being quite uncharacteristically gentle with this woman; but he knew that unlike all the other women he had fun with, this one was someone he respected as a strong individual as well as a female. And because this was her first time, he was preparing her to enjoy this rather than give her more reasons to believe any and all males were simply pigs. "Rosalia." Using her name had caught her attention and had her look up at him with clear, focused eyes. "Last chance to stop me now.."

Studying him, she realized that he was quite serious about that, pulling away from her as he waited for a response. A lot of things were buried under that gaze of his, though some she realized was something along the lines of caring. That was quite a bit to show and she knew it. So she drew her hands to his sides and coaxed him back to her, wrapping her arms around him once more. "I would have stopped you from even starting this," Rosalia said with a small smirk. It dropped as she took an intake of air as he pressed his very hard organ against her hot cunt, coating himself with her juices before he positioned himself at her entrance.

"How interesting." Slowly pressing into her folds, he had only slipped a few inches inside before her muscles clamped around him tightly. Her eyes were closed as she tried to adjust quickly to him, but all Riddick cared about at that moment was that tightness around his shaft. He didn't think any woman could be this tight. A moan spilled from his lips when her walls contracted around him on their own, which meant that they were beginning to relax for him to continue with what he wanted to do. Pulling back slowly until the head remained, he leaned down and kissed her deeply before pushing himself back inside but deeper this time, a startled cry muffled in his mouth. Slowly he began to pull and push, not pressing any further like she expected; not that she cared just yet, too overwhelmed with the pleasure. And it was the same for Riddick, her slick walls tightening every time he pulled out as though to stop him from leaving, then her hips would raise up to meet his. His mouth left hers as she tilted her head back, her soft moans filling his ears like music. It encouraged him to start moving faster, knowing that she was close to her first release because of her erratic breathing she couldn't control and the way she was digging her nails into his back. He must have pushed her quite far before he entered, making him smirk lightly in the knowledge. Moving his lips, he went for that pulse spot on her neck again, biting it a little rough and thus making her gasp. "Cum for me," he said darkly in her ear just before he pulled back and then thrust sharply against her, breaking the hymen he knew would be there to be buried fully in her tight sheathe. Her cry was quickly muffled by his mouth again as she held onto him tightly, riding out her orgasm as her walls rippled around him, trying to pull in his essence. She obviously didn't feel her barrier break, the overwhelming pleasure overlaying the sharp pain that would have been there otherwise. This was why he waited to the moment of her breaking point before he fully took her to his hilt.

Body shuddering from the intense feeling, Rosalia loosened her limbs from around him as he moved his upper body away from her. But he wasn't ready to stop, not when he hadn't been brought the same feeling yet. Smirking as he watched her open her hazy eyes, he noticed that they changed to silver at some point. They did that when she was angry, sad, in shock, or when she was feeling extremely happy; apparently the list got an new emotion added, erotically pleasured. Chuckling low, he sat up more and used his hands to pull at her hips, making her gasp from the new angle. "We're not done yet," he promised the woman as his hands spread her legs further then held her thighs in place as he started up his thrusting again, this time going harder and faster than he started off. The pleasure she had just experienced suddenly paled in comparison to having him so deep inside, instantly arousing her more than ever and making her knot inside her stomach slowly tighten once again. With her hands hanging onto his hips as though to help him go deeper, she noticed that he was having an easier ride because of her previous release. Because he held her hips down with his hands, she couldn't meet his thrusts like she wanted to. All she could do was stifle a whimper.

Riddick was the one to get close to releasing this time, but he wasn't about to let himself go until the woman was brought to hers at the same time. Releasing her thighs in favor to close the gap of their bodies again, he leaned down and bite the junction of her neck and collarbone hard enough to draw blood with his canines. It caused her to growl loudly, making him smirk again. But to his surprise, Rosalia knocked an arm out from under him and rolled them so that he was on his back instead; this never happened to him before, but he didn't dislike the fact that she changed the game a little. Looking down at him, she smirked mischievously as she slowed the pace a little and started to take him in long strokes instead of the short ones he was doing just a moment ago. Groaning, he closed his eyes to the feeling and faintly thought that she did very well for a beginner to find the right rhythm while on top. Pulling at her hips to slam her down on him, she was quickly becoming tight around him again, which was what he was looking for. By sitting up, he still found a deeper place inside her walls and in which caught her surprise. Not letting her take the time to revel in that discovery, he encouraged her to ground her hips into his and bring them closer to their release. The only thing she noticed that signaled he was about to release was that he grew hotter. She wrapped her arms around his torso and buried her face against the crook of his neck when she was about to come once again, biting his neck in the similar manner he did on her and tasted blood. That drove him to his sharp coiling release as he pulled her hips hard while at the same time thrusting up one last time. They both muffled their cry by biting each other's neck while his strong arms held the woman against him as her walls pulled in his burning seed into her womb. Not moving for many minutes, they caught their breaths while they gained control over their limbs again. Though they weren't in any hurry to move away from each other.

**Ends here**

After awhile of sitting there and resting, Riddick finally broke the silence with a low laugh, bringing a hand up her back and into her tussled hair to tug gently. Maybe under a different situation she would have glared, but she pulled back from his neck and merely blinked her hazy-looking eyes at him inquiringly. "I don't think I'll be letting you go now."

"Hmn..." was all she emitted at first, her arms lazily moving to wrap around his neck. Rosalia gave a small smile as she watched him watch her. "Something says that you are kind of stuck with me. Not that I have any complaint." And from the looks of the man, he didn't have any either. Before she had a chance to think about moving, he shifted her off of him and laid her on her side before doing so himself. He buried his nose into her hair, breathing in her scent deeply as he wrapped an arm languorously around her waist to keep her against him. "You realize that we both really need showers now, do you not?" she murmured against his chest, causing him to chuckle.

"We will in a bit, but you're not going to be able to stand for awhile."

"Why..?" Even after all this time, she could make him outright laugh out loud, though all it did was confuse her when he did laugh. He simply asked her to move a leg up, to which she tried and found that it wobbled so violently that she quickly gave up. "Ah."

"Discovering something new every day... or minute, I guess whatever comes first." Closing his eyes, he continued to deeply breath in her scent as though to memorize it. So he had gotten attached to such an oddity, but at the same time that made her beautiful. And dangerous. Unable to decided if he was becoming more human or animal because of this, he let his mind go blank of thoughts as he enjoyed the aftermath. Though he wondered how their other companions would react to discovering this, if at all.

"Bodyguard?"

"That or an ally, but whoever he is, he's no mere mortal." Malshano glared across the sitting room, to the man that had taken under the identity of 'Ceru' and chose to remain as such. The man slowly smirked as he tapped his chin, his dark hair falling over his brows and over his eyes.

"Riddick."

The silver haired man stared. "Surely you jest. He would be more dangerous than her!" Malshano narrowed his eyes as he unconsciously laid a hand on his sword. "No wonder there was no getting around him. A Furyian is as bad as a Yamakian, but Riddick is the worst!"

A dark chuckle left Ceru's lips as he considered his options. Of course, the laugh annoyed the man opposite of him but unfortunately for him, Ceru was the boss of the operation. He could laugh as he liked. "Oh, I think we'll find a use for this Riddick..."

**Yeah, I took forever getting this finished .; I know... GAH, stress is probably killing me, but whatever I guess. I seriously wish I could get a job... but there's no getting around the fact that everywhere is bad, where either no job is hiring or the business is going out. Urgh... wish I could ask for donations, but I'm not worthy enough for it ^^; If I can move out, then maybe things would get better for me...**


	14. Announcement

Hey guys,

Since as of the last two montsh, I have no way of updating all my stories, popular or otherwise, because I currently don't have a computer anymore. Y_Y Makes me sad to be alone without my compy... -Sniffles- But I'm just letting you all know that I'm still alive, and I'm not giving up on the stories just because of this. When I get a computer [though it may take forever...], I'll be updating as soon as I can! Just letting you all know, in case you thought I have forgotten this. Wish me the best of luck as I'm trying to get a job in order to get a computer.

See ya soon!  
Iapis


	15. Announcement 2

**Announcement #2**

Yes I'm very aware of how long it's been since I have written a chapter, it has made me disappointed that for the last year my creativity had taken a nosedive for awhile. But I just wanted to let you all know that I am alive, and I have began making chapters again! What you can expect in the future is a bit of cross-over of 'The Chronicles of Riddick' with 'Mass Effect', as the two universes can easily co-exist as long as I take the effort to do my research and learn about both without sounding stupid. I hope the idea of the cross-over wouldn't discourage you {the readers} from continuing to read the adventure of Riddick and his current company as the ideas are formed! I am rather excited at the new possibilities and ideas of this. And this may help my writer's block - for once I have been kept up at night with a likely scenerio to happen in the story! That's good news for me!

Also, I'd imagine that one other cross-over would happen, though it's something I'm debating on. If anyone had ever read 'Acorna the Unicorn Girl,' you'd know that this sci-fi story is certainly a grand tale, and it kind of sparked some scenes in my head if I was to have this cross-over as well. So likely we'll come across a few characters/races from these book series as well.

One other thing I'll say is that the story may have stopped because I wasn't happy with some of the last chapters, it caused me to be stuck because I couldn't figure out how to continue on like I wanted to. So likely I'll be rewritting these chapters! I'll leave the original chapters up but make sure to make them different from the rest of the chapters so that you know that one path I've tried to go had been there rather than simply say it didn't happen at all.

Thank you so much for the support guys, even if all you did was favorite this story. I watched the emails of come in and wondered how it was still popular when I haven't updated it in forever, making me feel guilty. XD; I hope you can forgive me on not updating. The next time you'll see an update is going to be a chapter, I promise you! Thank you so much once again for reading this story and commenting what you liked best or what your thoughts were, and I hope to read many more in the nearby future!

Also! Before I forget about saying this at all; with going through its new stages, likely this story is going to be deleted unless I change it big time {violence and sex is now being toned down to the point where a paper cut is now the highest blood spill 'mature' stories should have}, but I have started a new account on to reupload this whole story. I still go by the name Iapis on there. So please be sure to favorite me there if you're loving this story and want to keep up on this!

With best regards,  
Iapis


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